Innocence Lost
by animefreakproductions5
Summary: Alanna Braden was like any normal kid within Wall Rose. But as tragedy after tragedy struck, her childlike innocence was lost due to being forced to mature well before her time. This is a story of her survival under the reign of the Titans.
1. Life as They Knew It

"Connie! Wait up!" 10-year-old Alanna Braden whines, her light auburn ringlets bouncing on and off her shoulders as she dashes after the smaller, buzzed cut-haired boy bounding off ahead of her. She lifts up the skirt of her dress just a tad more to allow for easier movement in an attempt to catch up.

Her best friend, Connie Springer whirls around mid-step to shout teasingly, "You're too slow!" He laughs as the girl angrily sticks her tongue at him, continuing to sprint away from her and furthering their chase.

Even though humanity has been forced behind the walls, it's been a safe, peaceful one hundred years. The three walls, Maria, Rose, and Sina, offered protection from the Titans after the horrid creatures almost succeeded in devouring humanity to the brink of extinction a century ago. And even though it is like living confined to a cage, Alanna is completely satisfied with her life here. At least, she assumed so.

And what would make her think differently? She has loving, devoted parents, plenty of friends, and the villagers of her hometown, Ragako Village, are kind and neighborly. There's nothing to fear here. Everyone is able to go about their day with little worry. Almost no one has seen a Titan before in their lives since retreating behind the walls. They have done their job perfectly. Day after day after day, Walls Maria, Rose, and Sina keep the Titans at bay and away from humanity. It's taken some time, but slowly humanity is working its way back to where it was originally before the plague of the Titans.

Alanna always secretly pondered what the Titans actually looked like. However, she never found the courage to ask her parents or any other adult in the village that might possibly know. And maybe that is for the best. Those who asked too many questions or showed too much of an interest in the unspeakable monsters were openly shunned and ridiculed. It can be argued that those with an unnatural interest in their captors were treated just as bad if not more so than the Wall Worshipers. A curious mind often meant you were insane.

Were the Titans really as scary and dangerous as everyone said they were? Well, they had to be, if they forced humanity to retreat behind the walls for safety and to allow repopulation. But then again, they hadn't bothered their captives in a century. At least, those who remained inside the walls, unlike the individuals belonging to the Scouting Legion. Taking an excursion outside the protection of the walls meant only death and destruction for the souls who dare test their graces. These soldiers, more often than not, are scorned rather than praised for their bravery to face the beasts that trapped humanity here. It is because their missions always end in failure with heavy casualties, wasting the precious tax dollars used to fund them.

"Alanna!" the boy calls, doubling back, "You're taking too long!" Connie latches onto her wrist to begin dragging her along at his pace.

Like almost every single day, the two 10-year-old children wander off to play in the small, deciduous forest just outside the village. There is never any harm in the kids venturing just beyond the border of Ragako Village or else their parents wouldn't allow the best friends to go out so far. It's just an average day, doing the same thing per usual. The year; 845. It isn't until they sluggishly patter back into the village at sunset that they begin to notice that today may have been the last tranquil day for all of humanity.

The older, adult villagers are frantically mumbling to one another, many hysterically crying. Mothers scream for their young children playing merely feet away to only swoop them into tightened embraces seconds later. Other villagers soon flee into their homes with looks of terror plastered on tear-stained faces. Something isn't right. Everyone is too panicked and no one is saying anything. They'll need to find answers on their own. Being it the closer of the two, Alanna and Connie warily jog to the Braden household.

Alanna doesn't even make it up the porch steps before her mother crashes out the door to cradle the girl in her shaking arms. "Mama? What's wrong?" the 10-year-old questions, becoming extremely suspicious and anxious. Her mother is a docile soul and rarely gets riled up in such a manner.

Cora Braden ignores her daughter, eyes focusing on the boy fidgeting around on the balls of his feet at the bottom of the stairs. "Connie, go home. Now," the woman orders in an almost frantic bark. The hazel-eyed boy immediately bolts for his house, not about to argue with Mrs. Braden.

Alanna wriggles out of her mother's grasp. Again, she repeats her question, "What's wrong?"

"Inside," Cora insists, "Now." When her daughter does not follow right away as instructed, the woman impatiently snatches her wrist and yanks the confused and concerned Alanna inside.

Her father is there, sitting at their small, circular dining table with his forehead resting against his clasped hands, elbows leaning on the wooden surface. His mouth moves as though he is in the middle of silent prayer. Upon hearing the door open, Mr. Braden lifts his head, the distraught expression on his face relieving slightly at the sight of his only child safe and sound.

Lucas rises from his seat as his wife pulls their daughter further into their house. Cora releases her vice grip on her Alanna's wrist to join his side to only whisper in panicked voices, their sentences not coherent enough for the small girl to even attempt to successfully eavesdropping. She can't even make out any simple words to take a guess at what they are quietly discussing in front of her.

Becoming more agitated at being kept in the dark about whatever has the whole village in a terrified uproar, Alanna stamps her foot loudly on the wooden floor twice. Her parents pause in their conversation to stare at her in surprise as she respectfully tended to avoid interrupting others.

"What is going on?!" she demands, throwing her arms up for added effect, "Don't whisper in front of me as though I am ignorant of what you are doing!" She wants answers and she wants them now. Alanna has waited long enough.

Cora bristles as her daughter raises her voice in what she believes to be unnecessary and unwarranted anger and disrespect. She opens her mouth to scold the child, but her husband touches her arm, hushing her.

Lucas sighs, knowing it is probably best for them not to hide it from their daughter. Within a day, she's bound to hear about it. It's best that she hear it from her parents rather than any of the other villagers. Lest Alanna lose trust in them for keeping secrets best left told. No matter how much his paternal instincts attempt to sway him to protect his daughter from the truth, Lucas knows this is something he has to do. He kneels on one knee to become eye-level with Alanna, grasping her shoulders gently.

"I do not wish to frighten you... but Titans have invaded Shiganshina District... They've broken through Wall Maria..." he explains in an exasperated tone. It has only been mere hours since the first of the survivors of Shiganshina have arrived at Wall Rose following their successful escape from the Titan onslaught. The gruesome news has spread like wildfire throughout the land. Mr. Braden is certain that those in the Interior have heard about this disaster by now as well. Even now, more citizens of the outer districts along with the various towns and villages of Wall Maria continue to pour in as the government decreed the land there be deemed unusable and that mankind retreat further into Wall Rose.

Alanna's chocolate brown eyes widen with realization then shrink in fear. This is a joke, right? A sick, twisted joke. The walls are supposed to be impenetrable! Titans cannot have possibly broken through the walls that have kept them out for one hundred years! But then again, the absolute horror caked on her parents' faces tells her otherwise. It's all true. Humanity has lost Wall Maria and a third of their territory to the monsters that corralled them in here. No one is truly safe behind these walls. The Titans will devour everyone.

Cora mutters, "There's already a food shortage running through Wall Rose... Now, there will be less food with all the refugees to feed..."

"Cora, it isn't the victims' faults," Lucas chastises faintly, "They were practically evicted from their homes."

"Y-you're right... I wasn't thinking clearly..." Alanna's mother shamefully apologizes, bowing her head. Of course she meant no true malice towards the refugees. Cora only worried about having a meal for Alanna when sustainable food is already difficult enough to get.

Alanna notices something is off about her body. She raises her hands more towards her face, realizing that they are trembling. The 10-year-old quivers in terror as the reality really sinks in. Titans have invaded. Her heart pounds in her chest like a cornered, frightened rabbit. Honestly, she may as well be. The Titans have pinned them further into their confinement. There is no escape for them.

If they destroyed Wall Maria, what chance does the middle wall, Wall Rose stand? What possibly stands in the way of the Titans from attacking again? Will those who inhabited Wall Rose succumb to the monsters just as those who lived in Wall Maria? A Titan may make her a part of its next meal if Wall Rose is to fall. She is a defenseless child; an easy meal for even the slowest of Titans. That thought haunts Alanna even in sleep, as imaginations of the deadly creatures roam, igniting what would soon become frequent bouts of nightmares.


	2. A Mother's Love

**A/N: Slight trigger warning? If you are easily offended or sensitive, I HIGHLY suggest you skip this chapter and wait for the next one. You have all been warned, so I hope to not be spammed by angry reviews if you did not heed this message. Anyway, without further ado, enjoy the read!**

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In the weeks that followed the horrendous disaster that would soon be dubbed as the Fall of Shiganshina, refugees from the lost district along with those from the remaining territory of Wall Maria flooded endlessly into Wall Rose, further worsening the food shortage its citizens had been mercilessly struggling with to keep under control. With the arrival of so many new mouths to feed, all hope of stabilizing the food supply diminishes to zero. The refugees were packed like sardines into an old armory in one of the nearby districts where food, though scarce, was handed out in measly, unevenly measured portions. Everyone in Wall Rose, refugees and the locals, suffered tremendously under the building pressure. Bouts of fighting becomes a common occurrence, especially when the rations are handed out. It is absolute hell for everyone.

The Bradens are a small family of three; Lucas, Cora, and their only daughter, Alanna. Even still, with there being more people to sustain throughout Wall Rose, Mr. and Mrs. Braden strain themselves to provide vital necessities. Procuring a meal or even enough money to pay for food is no simple task.

The 10-year-old girl notices that occasionally her mother would sit at the table with her husband and child during meal times with not even an empty plate in front of her while they ate. At first, Alanna dismisses it. It probably isn't anything serious. Her mother must not be feeling hungry. Though, after a few more nights of this repeated behavior that becomes more and more frequent as the days passed, she finds the courage to ask, "Mama, why aren't you eating?"

Her father pauses, a spoon filled with somewhat-watery stew hovering just inches away from his mouth. His gaze shifts from his wife to his daughter and then back to his wife. Lucas is fully aware of the situation but has no idea what Cora would tell their child. Or if she ever has the intention of telling her. It isn't up to him to discuss with Alanna about her mother's choice. In fact, he'd tried talking her out of it to no avail. So, he remains silent, observing the unravelling situation before him.

Without skipping a beat, Cora waves off her daughter's concern with a delicate, warm smile. "I'm going to eat later. Now, finish your dinner," she explains, lying straight through her teeth. There isn't enough food around to feed the household of three. Mrs. Braden decided to take on the burden of missing supper so that there would always be a meal on Alanna's plate. She's even taken her sacrifice so far that she ignores her husband's constant requests and demands to consume his meal every other day. He needs his strength to help out the other men in the village. A mother would do anything for her child and she must not burden her beloved husband who is working so hard every day around the village to obtain money to allow the purchasing of food for meals. Cora can handle the hunger pains and damage it must be doing internally to her body if it meant she will never see the day where her baby girl goes to bed starving because of the food shortage.

To battle the growing famine with winter vast approaching, those from Shiganshina and other civilians of Wall Maria are put to work in the fields to cultivate crops. Assorted wheat and other grains are planted along with hardy potatoes in hopes that they would sprout. Failure here is not an option that can be afforded. If so, drastic measures will have to be taken. Yet, by the time it came for the harvest, it is discovered that the soil had been cold and barren, yielding nothing. Not even a single stalk of wheat is harvested. The famine will not be eased this year. The efforts of the refugees proved utterly futile.

This hits the Braden family hard. As food begins to grow scarcer and scarcer, Cora Braden heartbrokenly serves Alanna for dinner one night a small loaf of bread, barely fit to feed a rat, let alone a 10-year-old child. It is all she could obtain from the market. Two measly little loaves; one for her husband, the other for her daughter. And self-starvation is starting to become too taxing on her. Lately, she's become moodier, lashing out at Alanna for no reason at all or becoming impatient with Lucas fairly quickly. Mrs. Braden also battles with the temptation of stealing food from her own child during meals to ease her hunger. She's at her wits end. Cora knows she can't go on like this for much longer.

So, one day while Alanna is out of the house playing with the Springer's eldest boy and her husband is preoccupied with work around Ragako Village, Cora Braden does the unimaginable for a strong woman such as herself. She disappears upstairs only for Lucas Braden, upon his return, to find that his wife hanged herself, sending him into a fit hysterics.

When Alanna returns home later in the evening, her father is still sobbing over his deceased wife. He'd taken her body down and buried Cora behind the cabin well before their daughter came back from the Springer household. Having no idea what happened, she cautiously approaches Mr. Braden.

"Papa?" the 10-year-old squeaks, "Why are you crying?" She has never witnessed her father cry before. Not even when he broke his arm assisting in renovating some of the older cottages' roofs within the village years ago. In fact, he laughed off the injury. So right away, alarms are going off in her brain. Something is very wrong here.

Lucas does not answer his daughter. He can barely look at her at the moment. Alanna practically is the spitting image of her now late mother. How on earth is her going to explain it to her? His daughter is a mere child! She'll never understand at this age. It will crush her.

"Where's Mama?" she asks, noticing the absence of Cora's presence right away. How can she not? Mrs. Braden was a house wife, she never went anywhere other than to the market on every Thursday. It is only Tuesday. Where on earth could she be? Alanna rises to her the tip of her toes, looking into the kitchen for her mother.

No longer able to hide it from his perceptive child, Mr. Braden sweeps his daughter into an embrace. Hugging her tight, he hiccups, "Your mother is dead..." He'd rather not tell her the details until she is a bit older. The concept of death is still quite foreign for someone of her age. Alanna will not take the truth of her mother's death well at such a young age. In fact, she'll probably begin to hate her mother if he is to do so. So, Lucas decides it best to keep them to himself until he deems her ready and able to handle the dark truth.

But even still, the reality that she has suddenly lost her mother doesn't sit well with 10-year-old Alanna. She backs up a few steps, her eyes clouded with disbelief. Her ears become muffled as a high-pitched whine rings in her ears and the room begins to spin. Her body feels hot and her head is fuzzy. She slowly shakes her head back and forth, her light auburn hair that is so much like Cora's swaying with the slightest movement. She can't and won't believe him! Her mother was fine just this morning! She said she would see her daughter later after she finished playing with Connie. How can she be dead?! Without a word of warning, Alanna tears out of the house through the front door, it banging noisily shut with no one to catch it.

"Alanna!" Lucas calls, chasing after her. However, due to her head start, she disappears within seconds of him reaching the bottom of their porch.

Alanna keeps running, not paying attention to exactly where she is going. Of course, the darkening sky is of little help either. She really has no set destination in mind. She just has this incessant need inside to run until her legs can no longer carry her. Alanna will run until she's sated. She'll run until her body won't allow another step. Anything to rid herself of the pain by escaping reality. She doesn't care how far she ventures outside of Ragako Village. Sprinting well beyond the border of the small village, the young girl comes to a fast halt as she trips over a tree root that sends her unpleasantly tumbling across the rocky, unforgiving dirt with a sharp gasp.

Spitting out soil in an attempt to rid herself of the bitter, foul taste in her mouth as she sits herself upright, Alanna begins shaking uncontrollably as the tears have now formed in her eyes. If she wasn't so numb from the news about Cora Braden, she would be feeling the pain from her nasty fall. Actually, nothing can hurt her any worse than the sudden and unexpected death of her mother. She begins to sob until she exhausts her tears and can no longer cry.

As the echo of an owl resounds through the trees, the 10-year-old realizes just how dark it has gotten since she bolted from home. Now, all by herself, she can barely see a foot in front of her. She can't even see the stars through the thickness of the tree branches hanging overhead. Becoming petrified beyond belief as she has never strayed so far out of the village without the company of Connie Springer, nevermind so late at night, Alanna curls her knees into her chest, weeping loudly again, proving herself wrong, as she has become immobilized out of fear. She emptily wishes that her mother is still alive, that she'd come looking for her lost daughter to escort her back to their cozy, little cottage.

Minutes tick by, which then turns to a half an hour. Her father must be worried sick by now. Most likely he's called on a search for her. Perhaps that's what she wants. She's unable to even budge from her spot anyway. Then, a dead tree branch snaps loudly behind her, causing Alanna to quickly suck in her breath and hold it. Staying absolutely still, her mind races with panic as most 10-year-olds would in her situation with the possibility that a larger animal could quite possibly be hunting her. Her imagination even gets the better of her as she gets the notion that a Titan has miraculously slipped into Wall Rose undetected and is ready to add her to its long list of victims. Her heart thrashes against her ribcage, restricting her breathing to uncomfortably tight, quick breaths.

Maybe if she remains motionless, whatever stepped on the branch will not notice her. She squeezes her eyes shut, quietly whimpering to herself. Then, relief is suddenly washed over her as she hears her name being called out in the darkness.

"Alanna! Where are you?!" It is not the voice of her father, the pitch being much too high and boyish for it to be so. In fact, she recognizes the voice belonging to none other than Connie Springer. "Alanna!" his shouts echo through the forest, breaking the eerie silence that surrounds them.

She tentatively opens her eyes to see the warm, welcoming glow of a lantern. As Connie unknowingly draws closer to the girl, Alanna can begin to make out his facial features rather than just a silhouette. Finding her own voice, she calls out, "I'm over here, Connie!"

Upon hearing his best friend's voice, the boy lets out a sigh of relief. He'd been so worried when Mr. Braden had suddenly appeared at his house in a panic to see if his daughter ran there after she'd darted from her own home. Connie is not aware of Mrs. Braden's death as he had gone searching for Alanna as soon as her father mentioned she was missing.

He awkwardly wrestles through some thick brush to reach the shivering girl sniveling and sniffling on the ground. "Thank goodness, I found you!" Connie exhales, shining the light from the lantern onto the redhead, "Your dad is real worried. You should get home."

Alanna frowns, averting her gaze. What is the point of returning to a place without her mother? She shakes her head, objecting, "I don't wanna go back. So I won't."

Sensing that something is really wrong, Connie takes a seat next to her, placing the lantern between them. "What do you mean? Your parents-"

"That's just the point, Connie!" Alanna spits with agony, "I don't have _**parents**_ anymore! My mom is _**dead**_!" Hearing herself say it doesn't make the situation any better. Once again, she is reduced to tears. She covers her face with her trembling hands, muffling her loud weeps slightly.

"W-what...?!" the hazel-eyed boy stutters in complete shock. When did this happen?! Certainly not this morning when Alanna met up with him to play today. This must be what sent his best friend into a tizzy that caused her to run away from home. She's not the type to just up and leave without a valid reason.

He watches her cry into her palms for a good minute or two before feeling guilty about doing nothing to comfort her. Scratching the back of his head with an awkward sigh, Connie finally moves his hand to pet her head, much like what he does to console his younger sister, Sunny. He then puts his arm around her shoulders, hugging her close so his best friend can cry to her heart's content. Alanna's weeping turns to whimpers and then to calmer sniffles before finally quieting.

"Come on, it's late. Your dad must be losing his mind right now looking for you. Let's go back to the village," Connie suggests, taking the lantern in one hand and Alanna's right hand in the other. He pulls her up without waiting for a response and not much of a dispute from the Braden girl. Silently, the eldest Springer boy leads Alanna through the dark woods, back to Ragako Village, and home where Lucas Braden is anxiously pacing about the porch.

His eyes lift up upon witnessing the glow of the lantern as the two children draw near. Seeing his 10-year-old daughter safe and sound, Lucas rushes from the porch to scoop Alanna up in his arms, squeezing her so tight that she briefly thinks for a moment that he may just unintentionally suffocate his little girl.

"I don't know what I'd do if I lost you too..." Those are the only words that come the widower's mind and out of his mouth. He cups a hand to the back of Alanna's head, refusing to release the girl.

This makes Alanna feel extremely guilty for her outburst. She shouldn't have run away and scared her father like that. It isn't his fault. He lost someone precious, if not just a bit more, to him as well. She was selfish to have done such a thing to him. She squeaks out, "I-I'm sorry, Papa..."

Lucas sets his daughter onto her feet, kneeling before her. He shakes his head slowly, cupping her small, reddened cheeks in his calloused hands. Mr. Braden murmurs, "You don't need to apologize. I'm just relieved that you came back." The ginger-haired man looks to his little girl's best friend, thanking, "Thank you for bringing Alanna home, Connie."

Connie Springer only nods in reply. It had been the right thing to do. And somehow, the shorter boy figures that Alanna might not have come back home so willingly if anyone else from the village had found her. He turns around to head home himself when he feels two hands grip his free arm and tug him back a step.

Alanna, suddenly stricken with fear of sleeping by herself tonight, latches onto the first person that gave her comfort. For years, the Braden girl and the Springer boy looked out for and relied on one another. If it is possible that anyone knows her better than herself, it has to be Connie. They've been inseparable since infancy.

Connie huffs, "Alanna, I have to go home. It's late." His mother is probably cross enough with him for leaving to search for Alanna without saying a word. That was almost an hour ago too. He searched the entire village before trying the forest they often played in before the Fall of Shiganshina. Thank God she didn't go too far in or he may have never found her until the morning.

"No!" Alanna begs, tightening her grip slightly. Please don't leave me!" Connie can feel her nails gently pressing into his skin. He winces in response to the minor pain. Inside, he feels horrible, sensing her aura of desperation. Brown eyes quiver to hazel eyes, pleading for their owner to stay.

Lucas sighs, scratching his head. To avoid having his at-the-moment emotionally unstable daughter break down beyond consolation, he realizes that he must grant her request. "Connie, go upstairs with Alanna. You'll spend the night here. I'll go over to your house now and explain to your parents." Right now, both he and Connie are treading on thin ice. The slightest upset could prove to be too much for Alanna to handle in her current state of mind. Her emotional stability is far too fragile at the moment. It is best to do as she says.

"M-Mr. Braden, a-are you sure?" Connie asks. He thought Lucas Braden would have surely sent him home and his daughter up to bed with no discussion or compromise. That's just the type of man he is. The Springer boy wouldn't call him an unreasonable or overly strict fellow, just a stern father doesn't usually bend to his daughter's tantrums.

"Just get up to bed," the widower mutters, taking the lantern from Connie and striding in the direction of the Springer household, "I'll be back soon."

Alanna remains silent, her eyes shifting shyly to her feet. Her bottom lip quivers slightly until she clamps down on it with her teeth. She doesn't want to go inside, where hours ago, her mother died. Her feet won't move.

Connie tugs his arm, pulling the girl with him. He scolds, "Come on. Before you make your father angry with you." Once again, Alanna doesn't argue with the boy, following him inside her home without a fuss. He can tell that her mind is all over the place. This isn't good. She's like a lifeless doll. Leading his best friend slowly up the stairs and to her bedroom, Connie ponders what exactly happened to Mrs. Braden. Alanna's mother hadn't exactly been sickly, but perhaps he couldn't have labelled her as healthy either. Between her apparent weight loss and slight change in personality something had to have been seriously wrong with Alanna's mother. Maybe he should have mentioned something to Lucas Braden about his wife. Maybe if he had been a little more concerned, Cora Braden would still be here. Then again, dwelling on the things he could have done will only further to upset his friend. He has to keep looking forward for Alanna's sake.

Alanna pauses in the doorway of her bedroom. She has to change into pajamas. She shivers, the idea of the absence of her best friend for even a moment in the house where her mother passed chills her down to the core.

"What are you waiting for?" Connie questions, nudging her further inside, "Get changed." His friend stares at him with the most fearful eyes he's yet to see. He's never seen her like this before. She's like a whole new person. Still, he waves her off even when she opens her mouth to argue. "I'll be right outside the door. Nothing is going to happen in the two minutes it takes to put on your nightgown." With that said, he reaches in to pull the door shut, separating them between the wooden barrier.

Alanna shuffles over to a drawer of her clothes, neatly organized by her mother. Tears cloud her eyes as she thinks of her deceased loved one, but none drip down her cheeks. The girl rubs the tears away with her arm, sniffling. She hastily pulls out a plain nightgown and changes so that Connie can join her in her room. Solitude is her worst enemy as of now. She can't bear to be alone.

Opening the door, the auburn-haired, 10-year-old girl yanks the Springer boy inside who yelps in response. She tugs him to her bed, refusing to lay down unless he lays next to her, clutching her hand. And knowing that there is no point in arguing with Alanna at the moment, he obliges. She falls asleep with no issue, but even with the comfort of her best friend beside her, she is subject to another gruesome nightmare fueled by not only by fear of the Titans but by the untimely, unforeseen death of her mother, Cora Braden.

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 **A/N: Don't be shy! Leave a review for me so I can improve the story for you!**


	3. To Become a Cadet

No one thought that things could possibly get any worse than the Fall of Shiganshina and the loss of the territory in Wall Maria. Yet, that following year, a plan is created by the government to reclaim the land stolen by the Titans. In the year 846, a military campaign is launched, sending two hundred and fifty thousand refugees old enough to serve in the military, tasking them to retake Wall Maria. However, the campaign turns out to be another failure as only about one hundred of the soldiers return to Wall Rose without reclaiming Wall Maria. Twenty percent of humanity's entire population had been lost which, in bittersweet news, relieved much of the strain from the food shortages within Wall Rose.

Rumors fly around left and right about the campaign. Many suspect it was nothing more than a political purge to lessen the mouths to feed within Wall Rose. The government used those refugees that took part as nothing more than fodder to lighten the burden of famine.

Lucas Braden, realizing that now is any a time to disclose the true cause of his wife's death to their daughter, gathered all of his strength before pulling her aside. Innocent people died to relieve the strain on food. It is not something he wished to do so soon, but the truth has been eating at him ever since that day. He can hide it from her no longer.

After finally being told the truth behind her mother's death, the purge of refugees and its results sickens Alanna to her stomach. Her mother took her own life because she had been sacrificing her meals to save her daughter. She chose to waste away so her child would never sit with an empty plate during meal times. If she had only waited a while longer! Her death was not much before the campaign was proposed, announced, and enacted. Perhaps if she had, Cora Braden would still be alive.

Alanna had been slowly moving on from her mother's death. The 11-year-old took it upon herself to take up mother's chores along with her own. It seemingly took her mind off the way things were. There was no time to mourn with cooking, cleaning, and laundry to be done day in and day out. It also meant her father would not further exert himself. But the campaign and the truth behind Cora's death brings in a relapse. She cries unendingly for days, so inconsolable that it pained those who cared deeply about her. She refuses to leave her room or even get out of bed. She even turns away visits from Connie, attempts on her father's part to coax the girl out.

And then one day, Connie decides that he is not going to take no for an answer. He'll stay put until she is willing to hear him. Arriving at the Braden residence early in the afternoon, just a bit before lunchtime, he is surprised to find Lucas Braden sitting out on the porch. He seems to be immersed a book. It must be very old, seeing how the cover is worn and ragged. As he draws closer, Connie notices that Alanna's father is reading passages from The Bible.

"Connie? What are you doing here?" Lucas asks in curiosity, raising an eyebrow at the boy. "Alanna is still refusing to leave her room. It's probably best you go home." He knows his daughter's best friend must be overridden with concern for his girl, but nothing either one of them does seems to console her. He's glad that she at least takes and eats the food he leaves outside her door. He'll accept that. He won't rush her recovery. Mr. Braden is certain that trying to force Alanna out of her room will only further upset her. The elder Springer boy arrived at the house in attempt to persuade the auburn-haired preteen to come out of her room every single day. He'd often sit outside her room for hours, begging his best friend to talk to him. Sometimes Connie would just prattle on about pointless things in the hopes of stirring Alanna into conversing with him. Mr. Braden often had to send the boy home without any progress.

Connie shakes his head. He explains, "There's something I have to tell her. She'll never forgive me if I don't." Even if his best friend rejects seeing him, he has to let her know about his plans.

His best friend's father nods in understanding and motions his head towards the door. The hazel-eyed boy strides in and up the stairs, hesitating just outside Alanna's shut door. Even with it firmly closed, he can still hear her quiet sobbing. His heart cracks at the sound of his best friend's obvious pain. Just how long has she been crying for? Days? Weeks? Months? Honestly, he's lost track. He doesn't know what he can possibly do to make her feel better. Everything he's tried has failed.

Knocking on the door, he gently announces, "Alanna... it's me..." Silence echoes. The weeping stops, but there is no answer. She's doing her best to ignore him so that he'll go away. However, this tactic of hers isn't going to work today. Connie isn't leaving until she hears what he has to say.

"Alanna... You don't have to come out... or even talk to me... I just wanted to let you know..." he pauses, thinking about just how he is going to break it to her. Connie has no idea how she'll react. Will she beg for him to stay? Curse at him to leave and never come back? Or ignore him completely? Regardless of her reaction, he must tell her. "I'm going to join the cadets next year." Again, silence. Connie waits a minutes then sighs before turning away to begin heading home. He told her. He'll have to settle for that.

And then the door opens slightly and a familiar, small, trembling hand latches onto his sleeve. "Why... what good is it to join the cadets?" Alanna whispers somberly. She doesn't object as Connie nudges the door open wider.

"I want to make my family and the village proud of me. Simple as that."

"The government will only use you as fodder for the Titans! You'll just die! Can't you see that?! They sent almost two hundred and fifty thousand refugees to their death! They weren't even real soldiers!"

"In the end, no matter how much I hate to admit it, you and I both know that campaign ended the famine for us."

"Do you even hear yourself?!" Alanna chastises softly, closing her fingers tightly around the fabric in her grasp, "Innocent victims were sent off on their merry way to die just so the rest of us could eat a meal. I understand why it wouldn't bother you, but my mother _**killed herself**_ because there had been nothing at the time!"

Tears fall down her cheeks as she begins crying again. She feels hopeless. It is her fault her mother is dead. She should have shared her portion with her mother. She shouldn't have turned a blind eye. She shouldn't have been so ignorant to her mother's self-starvation. She saw it happen and she did nothing to stop her. She never questioned her mother's actions. She never told her to stop. "I don't want the same thing that happened to the refugees to happen to you! I don't want you to die!"

Connie pulls Alanna out of her door with a gentle tug and into a tight embrace, stroking her hair. "I have to do this Alanna. Or else, I have no purpose." He knows what cadet life entails, but he's not aiming for life on the front lines such as the Scouting Legion or even in the Garrison. No, he's going to become part of the Military Police. He'll be living safely within the interior walls of Wall Sina.

Purpose. What purpose does Alanna have? Surely, it isn't to cry in bed all day, mourning the avoidable loss of her mother. That's it. She doesn't have a purpose. Staying here will only bring her more suffering as being home constantly reminds her that Cora Braden is dead. Crying in her locked room will not bring her mother back to life. Feeling sorry for herself will accomplish nothing. She'll waste away if she stays here.

"I... I'm... I'm coming with you..." she forces out. If Connie left Ragako Village without her, Alanna will be all alone. She can't bear that. She'll join the cadets too. She'll find her purpose there.

"A-Alanna, y-you don't have to!" Connie sputters, surprised that those exact words came from her lips, "Don't come along just for my sake."

Alanna lowers her eyes. Yes, in a way, she is considering the cadets based solely on following Connie there. How can she not? All their lives, they've done everything together. He can't just expect to tell her he's going to leave her and that she'll linger in the village waiting for his return, if he ever would. They have to protect one another. Who will protect him if she's not there? No one knows him like she does. No one will give a shit about him. She can't trust anyone to guard him with everything they've got. This duty is hers and hers alone.

"I... I'm not doing this for you... I'm doing this for a selfish reason of my own..." she admits to the floor. Tears well in her eyes again and two droplets drip to the wooden panels. Alanna quickly wipes her eyes dry. "I won't be left behind... not again."

Connie sighs. He came over here only to tell her of his plans, not convince her to join the cadets. Is she even thinking rationally? Is this of her own volition or is the grief talking?

"You know cadet life is going to be hell," he comments.

"Don't you think I've already experienced that?" she replies in a colder tone than usual with eyes that seem to be burning with a passionate fire not yet seen in her before. Hell caused by the nightmares than often ruined her attempts of sleeping peacefully throughout the night and caused her development of insomnia. Hell caused by the famine that plagued Wall Rose. And hell caused by the truth of her mother's death; he should know this. "I can handle it."

So, that day, the two children reveal their intentions to their parents. Connie's are positively thrilled at their son for taking on such a daring and difficult task. He is showered with praise for being especially brave considering how rare it is for eager cadets to come from Ragako Village. The village hasn't had any recruits in the past few years. His younger siblings gaze at him in admiration, fitting for a big brother.

Mr. Braden, on the other hand, downright rejected his daughter's wild ambition. He cannot allow his only child to willingly become fodder for the Titans. His wife is already dead, why does Alanna wish to leave him too?

"Alanna, you are not to join the cadets next year. I forbid it," Lucas warns after his daughter pesters him to reconsider.

The look on her face hardens. Her fingers curl into tightened fists and she clamps down on her bottom lip. The brown eyes she inherited from her mother lower to the floor but do not lose the intensity of her anger. Alanna hisses to the wooden floor, "You expect me to abandon Connie? Who will watch his back against the Titans?! Surely not any of the other cadets!"

"You need to worry about yourself before you worry about others!" Lucas scolds, "Look what putting others before yourself got your mother!" Immediately, he regretted saying such a thing.

"How can you say that about Mama?!" Alanna gasps in disgust. It is disrespectful. What an awful thing to say in regards to a deceased person, let alone his own wife! She sacrificed her life to secure meals for the both of them. Filled with a sudden fire, the 11-year-old locks eyes with her father. Strongly, she explains, "I am joining the cadets. Even if it causes you to hate me for the rest of my life."

Without another word, the Braden girl stomps upstairs. She begins packing for her trek to the training camp for the cadets. Sure, it is a bit too early to start packing, but she needs something to get her mind off of her father. Needless to say, packing does assist in subsiding her rage. But, due to her inherent stubbornness and unforgiving revulsion for his comment, Alanna's relationship with her father becomes rocky and strained. Soon enough, she even begins to refuse to speak to him.

And by the day both Connie and Alanna depart from Ragako Village comes around, the Braden girl does not even say goodbye to her only family member. She only offers a nod before following Connie out of the village, refusing to turn back. No, she chose already. Connie will be alone without her if she stays behind. She can't trust anyone to protect him other than herself. Today, she'll become a cadet!


	4. The First Day

Lined up along with all of the cadets joining this year, Alanna uses her peripheral vision to eye those around her. Just as she suspected, besides herself and Connie, there are no others from Ragako Village. No one else from their village left when they did and no one else talked about joined the Cadet Corps this year. She tightens the ponytail holding back the majority of her curly, auburn hair before settling back into her previous stance. No need to piss off the commanding officer on the first day for fussing over her hair. He'll probably force her to cut it if he catches her fiddling with it now. She squints as she glares into the shining sunbeams. It's hot as holy hell in these uniforms standing motionless in direct sunlight. It's supposed to be one of the hottest days of the week and she's in a long-sleeved jacket and pants, even if they are white. She can just feel the sweat beading on her face.

"Keep it together, Alanna... If you can't bear something as simple as this, you can forget about protecting Connie..." the 12-year-old mutters quietly to herself. She stares straight ahead as a tall and intimidating man with prominent stress wrinkles on his forehead strides forward. His most notable features are the dark circles around his eyes which make him appear more imposing and frightening. He looks like he's about to eat them alive… This has to be their drill sergeant for the next three years. Oh, this looks like it is going to be some pretty intense three years.

"Straighten those spines, pissants! The 104th Cadet Corps boot camp starts now!" the bald man roars, his voice echoing clearly. There's no way that a single cadet cannot hear him. He continues while staring out at the large group of cadets wanting to join in humanity's fight against the tyrannical rule of the Titans, "Allow me to introduce myself, I'm Commandant Keith Shadis! And you _**will**_ grow to hate me!"

The Braden girl raises an eyebrow slightly. She's not sure how hating the commandant will accomplish anything. Isn't it actually counterintuitive? Shouldn't he be teaching them about comradery or something? Maybe he just meant training will be so grueling day after day after day that they'd wish for nothing more than for him to keel over. But isn't that to be expected of a drill sergeant? He isn't training them to like him, he's training them to survive against the Titans. She shakes her head, realizing she's overanalyzing.

Shadis continues, bellowing, "Training is gonna be a white-knuckled ride through hell! If I've done my job, you'll be waking up in a cold sweat from memories of this place every single night for the rest of your miserable lives!"

As someone who continues to suffer from infrequent nightmares and insomnia developed after the loss of Wall Maria, Alanna rolls her eyes with an annoyed huff. That's just what she needs, another trigger for her bouts. She shakes her head to clear her thoughts. She knew from the start it is not going to be butterflies, sunshine, and rainbows here. This is boot camp. There's no way she's going to let her nightmares afflict her training.

Shadis shouts loudly to end his speech, "Right now, you're nothing; livestock! But over the next three, soul crushing years you'll learn to take down your own Goliath! Remember this moment when you come face-to-face with him. 'Cause here's where you ask yourself, 'Am I a fighter?! Or am I feed?! Am I gonna be ground up to pulpy, human bits crushed between boulder-sized incisors?! Or am I gonna be the one to bite?!'"

The auburn, curly-haired, 12-year-old shifts her eyes back to the left where Connie stands two places from her. She's here for his protection. It's going to be her job to make sure he doesn't fall victim to the Titans. In order for that to happen, she's going to work her ass off training here so that she herself will not perish at the hands of the man eating monsters. She raises an eyebrow as she notices Connie's overly-tensed shoulders. Alanna can even tell he's clenching his jaw as hard as he can. It's not normal for him to get nervous like this. Following his gaze, she suddenly is enlightened with the answer.

Commandant Shadis is beginning to make his rounds around the cadets. He's already finished one row, and by the looks of it, they seem quite relieved that their turn is over. "Hey!" the drill sergeant addresses a short, blond boy with light blue eyes, "Mop Top!"

"Sir!" the boy answers with a salute.

"What do they call you, maggot?"

"Armin Arlert! From Shiganshina, sir!"

Alanna flinches. Shiganshina was the district that was overrun by Titans. Due to its fall, Wall Maria and its territory was lost. She wonders just how many other cadets present are from Shiganshina as well. From the outcome of survivors from that district alone, she assumed very few, if there are any more. What is he doing here? After the tragedy that struck his hometown, he wants to face the Titans?

"Wow, seriously?! Why would your parents curse you with such a dumb name?!" Keith Shadis insults, towering over the boy who has to be just slightly taller than Alanna.

Armin seems to let the insult slide, responding calmly, "It was my grandfather, sir!" Already, Alanna can tell he may fair better than most psychologically. But, the uncomfortable look in his eyes may prove her wrong.

"Cadet Arlert! Why is a runt like you here?!" the commandant demands, leaning in close to the blond's face.

Armin yowls back as confidently as possible, "To help humanity overcome the Titans!" His pitch elevated ever-so-slightly at the end of his sentence, alluding that he may have actually had to force the words to come out confidently.

"That is delightful to hear!" Commandant Shadis replies, backing up a step. "You're gonna be a great light snack for them!" Placing a rather large, calloused hand on the boy's head, the man physically turns Armin around. "Row three, about face!"

Alanna continues to observe the onslaught of interrogations conducted to her peers. Each poor soul looks about ready to pee their pants as he gets to them. Actually, the Braden girl is surprised that no one has yet pissed themselves after being fully harassed by the overbearing drill sergeant. Then, she is caught off guard as he intentionally skips over a few cadets. At first, she thought he just made a mistake and would double back after he finished a row. Seeing as he continues on and disregards the ones he missed, it clearly is no mistake. These cadets are very different from everyone else for sure. They seem completely unfazed by all the screaming and antagonizing going on around them, unlike the ones still waiting for their turn. Their faces are hardened, as if this is nothing more than mere child's play. Those stone, cold gazes of theirs puzzles Alanna. What kind of thoughts are floating around in their heads?

Finally, Shadis settles in on his next target. A boy with pale brown hair that is thinned underneath and a cocky smile on his face. "What do we have over here?!" the man exclaims, leaning once again in his victim's face as a form of intimidation.

"Jean Kirstein, from the Trost District, sir!"

"And why are you here, cadet?"

Jean looks taken aback for a moment. But then his arrogant smile returns. Contently, he explains, "To join the Military Police, sir. The best of the best."

Alanna's lips twitch as she refrains from frowning. Connie's aiming for the Military Police as well. That means this Jean fellow is his competition... along with God knows how many other cadets. The Braden girl can try for the MPs too, but she highly doubted that she'd score high enough with all the competition. She'll settle for life in the Garrison if push comes to shove. No reason to take a Military Police slot away from her best friend. It's safer there; he needs to get in. If they both manage to get in, then she'll accept that too.

"That's nice... You wanna live in the Interior, do ya?" Keith Shadis murmurs before unexpectedly head butting the tall brunette square in the forehead making a few jaws drop in surprise. The boy crumples to his knees, cradling his face in his hands while whimpering before curling over. This only seems to make the commandant even angrier as he scolds, "No one told you to sit, recruit! If you can't handle this, Kirstein, then forget about joining the Military Police!"

"What the hell is wrong with your face, you smiling idiot?!" Shadis then verbally attacks the freckled-faced, noirette besides Jean.

"Marco Bott, at you service, sir! From Jinae, south side of Wall Rose!" the eager cadet answers, "I aim to join the Military Police and give life and limb in service of the King!"

At least someone had a pure goal in mind about heading to the Interior. Though, Alanna can't tell if it's a façade or not. In more ways than one, those granted the honor of joining the Military Police are rarely tasked with jobs that risked the loss of life, let alone appendages. Still, she's not too happy that yet another person is looking at making it into the MPs. Connie is going to have his hands full trying to beat the others. It's going to take everything she's got to help him surpass everyone.

"Hey, Cue ball. You're up next," Shadis growls, towering over Connie's small frame. Instantly, Alanna twitches at the rude name. He's not bald, unlike a certain drill sergeant, his hair is just buzzed. Still, she remains calm as it will do her no favors to get worked up. It's just the drill instructor trying to crack them. It's best she keep her opinions to herself.

Connie stutters out a hasty response out of anxiety, U-uh, me?!" The crew cut-haired boy recovers immediately, saluting, "Sir! Connie Springer from Ragako Village, sir!"

Wondering why Shadis appears to be extremely agitated, far more than he has been previously, Alanna's brown eyes trace the instructor's gaze. She pales as she realizes Connie has made a grave error. He's saluting with the wrong hand on the wrong side of his body. She's too far away to correct him without getting caught. Not that being any closer would guarantee different outcomes. "Oh, son of a bitch..." she mutters to herself. _Connie, you loveable moron…_

Without any warning, Keith Shadis lifts the boy off the ground by his head, stretching his eyelids. The commandant growls, "You have it backwards, Connie Springer. That was the first thing you were taught. This salute represents the resolve in your heart to fight those bent on the systematic destruction of our people. IS YOUR HEART ON YOUR RIGHT SIDE?!"

Alanna glares hatefully at the man who's holding her best friend's body painfully above the ground by his head. Seeing the look of agony on Connie's face does nothing to soothe her rising temper. And perhaps because he senses her burning stare, Shadis locks eyes with the 12-year-old female. Dropping the hazel-eyed boy unforgivingly onto the dirt with a thud, the drill sergeant passes over the boy directly standing to Alanna's left and imposes himself directly in front of her.

"What's with that face, cadet? Am I pissing you off?" Keith Shadis interrogates with much deadlier tone. She bites her tongue, only staring back with angered eyes. She understood the idea discipline for errors, not hoisting a 12-year-old boy off the ground by his skull. But if she fired back a retort, surely she'd earn a punch or two. He asked a rhetorical question. He can't trick her into more trouble by answering. Her silver tongue will do her no favors. Alls he can do is stand her ground. "Silent are we... WHO THE HELL ARE YOU TO THINK YOU CAN JUST IGNORE ME?!"

She quickly shifts into the correct stance for a proper salute, answering in the bravest voice she can muster, "Alanna Braden! Ragako Village, sir!"

"Cadet Braden! Why didn't you answer me in the first place?!"

Before Alanna can even think of an appropriate answer or Shadis can continue to rage at her, the sound of someone noisily taking a bite out of food echoes, bringing the already hushed area to a dead silence. Everyone immediately turns their heads to witness a brunette, ponytail-wearing girl casually eating a whole, steamed potato. And suddenly, the drill sergeant seems completely disinterested in giving an earful to Alanna. Whoever she is, she's unintentionally shifted his anger from the Braden girl to herself.

"Hey, you there... What do you think you're doing?" The girl doesn't seem to realize that Shadis is addressing her as she glances around to see if she can pinpoint who has ticked him off now. He storms straight up to her, screaming, "YOU'RE OFFICIALLY ON MY SHIT LIST! JUST WHO THE HELL ARE YOU?"

Chewing rapidly in order to swallow down her recent mouthful, the scatterbrained brunette salutes with potato still in hand. She introduces herself, "Sasha Braus from Dauper Village, at your service! Reporting for duty, sir!"

Shadis lowers his voice, his tone becoming more threatening than when he screams at the top of his lungs, "Sasha Braus, huh? And what is that you're clutching in your right hand?"

"A steamed potato!" the girl answers without hesitation, "It sat there in the mess hall begging to be eaten, sir!"

"The theft, I understand... But here... Why eat it here of all places?"

"It looked quite delicious. And it was getting cold, so I gave it shelter in my stomach, sir."

It takes all she has for Alanna to refrain from slapping her palm to her forehead. Just how dense is this girl?! That was a rhetorical question. No matter her answer, this Sasha girl can look forward to a punishment of some sort.

"Why? I can't comprehend... Why would you eat that potato?!" the commandant mutters in disbelief that a cadet was stupid enough to steal a potato from the mess hall and consume it during line up. It is nowhere near time for them to break for lunch.

Sasha stares back at Shadis, looking positively confused as to where the drill sergeant is headed. She slightly cocks her head to the side, asking for clarification, "Are you asking me why humans eat potatoes? I'm surprised you don't know, sir."

Literally everyone within hearing range of that comment drops their jaw. Silence follows; the only other sound heard being from the wind picking up ever-so-slightly. They all lock their eyes onto the dumbass cadet whose latest statement may earn her the ass kicking of the week. Actually, their drill sergeant looks as though he's about ready to straight up kill her on the spot. While Connie stares at the girl in utter horror, expecting the worst retaliation from Keith Shadis, Alanna observes closely, completely intrigued by Sasha's clear airheadedness. She had no idea that someone could be that dense. Well, other than her best friend, who clearly had his moments every now and then. Meaning no offense by it, the Braden girl actually internally thanks the brunette girl from taking Shadis' rage from her, even if it was unintentional.

Seconds tick by as the cadets all tense in anticipation for Commandant Shadis' next move. It's so quiet, it's almost as if the cadets have forgotten to or have refused to breathe until the confrontation is over. Then, they are surprised as it is Sasha that moves first. Taking the steamed potato in her hands, she unevenly breaks it with ease. Sighing in discontent, she offers him the smaller portion with a sort of scowl on her face, "Here, sir. Have half."

Shadis receives the small piece of the potato with a look of shock on his face. Taken aback, he repeats, "Have half? Really?"

Sasha grins as though she's done the right thing. Alanna shakes her head. If anything, the girl from Dauper should have offered the bigger portion to the commandant as he is their superior officer. What she really should have done was not steak the potato from the mess hall in the first place. And it comes as no surprise to the rest of the cadets when Shadis orders Sasha to run around the grounds.

"Man, I thought Shadis was gonna kill Potato Girl!" Connie comments as he, Alanna, and a handful of other cadets watch her sluggishly tramp by for the umpteenth time. His best friend adds that she thought the same outcome was going to happen to him for saluting incorrectly.

"I know, one hell of a first day," Eren Jaeger agrees, "It's funny, being told to run until the sun sets didn't seem to bother her nearly as much as losing meal privileges for the next five days."

Alanna ponders that for a bit. Sasha did seem panicked about that minor detail. More panicked than the normal person told that they wouldn't be eating. As someone who lived through the famine in Wall Rose, Alanna didn't exactly know if she'd be as upset or not. She adds, "I think she mentioned being from Dauper Village. Isn't that a small hunting village up in the mountains?"

Some movement to their left, causes Eren to switch his attention from Sasha. "Hey. What's that?" he asks, nodding his head to what appears to be a horse drawn covered wagon being driven up the path they'd taken down to get here.

The only other female cadet out observing Potato Girl, known as Mina Carolina, answers, "They're dropouts. They said they'd prefer to work in the fields."

"But it's only the first day!" Armin objects in disbelief. Sure, this morning had been semi-traumatizing, what with being screeched at for no apparent reason by Shadis, but that alone is no means to just give up and head for the fields without giving cadet life a try.

Eren just shrugs his shoulders. "That's the way it is. If you can't handle the pressure, you gotta leave." The others turn their heads to look at him. He has a point. If they aren't willing to endure harassment from their drill sergeant or the grueling basic training, they will never be able to fight for the benefit of humanity. "I can't believe anyone would rather pull plants than fight."

Marco straightens up from leaning against the mess hall's porch railing. Facing Eren, he replies, "I know about some of us, but you never mentioned where you were from, Eren."

Eren just smiles and places a hand on Armin's shoulder. The brunette chuckles, "The same as Armin. From Shiganshina."

"Oh wow... That means..." the freckled boy starts.

Connie eagerly takes the words from Marco's mouth, "You saw it! You were there that day!"

Elbowing her friend for his blatant rudeness, Alanna snaps, "Hey! Don't just bring something like that up in a casual conversation!" Surely, their new friend did not want to discuss it. It had to been such a traumatic day for him. And quite frankly, it really is none of any of their businesses.

Still, Connie ignores her, pushing for further details, "The Colossal one! Did you see him?!"

"Yeah... yeah, I did," Eren answers.

It doesn't take long for word to spread of Eren's sighting of the Colossal Titan as it appeared at Shiganshina. During dinner time, a plethora of cadets crowd around the table the brunette has chosen to eat his supper at. Many wish for Eren to clarify the rumor that rushed around like wildfire. Becoming slightly impatient after being asked the 6th or 7th time in a row, in all honesty he lost count, Eren finally mutters, "Yeah, okay?! I saw the big guy..." He rolls his eyes slightly as the cadets surrounding him gasp in a mix of horror and shock. Is it really such a big deal? It's just a Titan.

"Woah, seriously?!" Thomas Wagner whistles, asking for further clarification even though Eren had just gave him the answer two seconds prior.

Samuel Linke-Jackson slams his palms on the table, asking the other question on everyone's minds, "Okay, exactly how tall was he?!"

"He stuck his head over the outer wall," the brunette answers with a tone that casually hinted at his annoyance of being swarmed about the Fall of Shiganshina. So he had to be at least over fifty meters tall. The Colossal Titan is probably the tallest Titan ever recorded.

"Wait!" Daz objects, "I heard he stepped over the wall completely!" A few other cadets agreed, saying that's what they'd heard in their villages when news spread of the district becoming overrun by Titan invaders.

Alanna clucks her tongue noisily. She scoffs, "Come on, gossiping about the details we don't know are how rumors get started and spread. If Eren says it wasn't tall enough to clear the wall, it wasn't tall enough to clear the wall." Placing her hands on her hips, the new cadet eyes Connie who is intently staring at Eren while kneeling on the floor with his hands grasping the edge of the table. She doesn't particularly like his sudden interest in the Fall of Shiganshina and the Colossal Titan. Personally, she didn't really want to hear the gory details.

"So, what did it look like?" Mina questions. Again, no one who wasn't there the day the Titans overtook Wall Maria has any clue as to the appearance of any, Colossal or not, Titans. And of course, curiosity overruled the boundaries of what is acceptable to ask and what is not.

Eren describes after thinking for a moment to gather his thoughts, "It had a mouth like a corpse. And no skin, just muscles." For an event that happened two years ago and for only seeing it for a brief second before it disappeared, the image of the 60 meter class Titan is still quite clear and fresh in his mind. He'll probably never forget that moment of sheer terror he felt as the Colossal Titan reared its head over the wall of the district.

"And the Armored Titan? The one who broke through Wall Maria?" Daz quips again, this time sounding a bit more anxious than beforehand.

"Is that what they're calling it?" Eren asks, raising an eyebrow before sighing, "In all the panic, it was just another Titan to me." Meaning he may not have had a good look at it as he did with the Colossal Titan. He was fleeing by boat by the time that Titan smashed through the inner gate. Those two abnormal Titans supposedly vanished into thin air mere minutes after their sudden appearance.

And then finally, Samuel crosses the line every cadet was sheepishly dancing around. He suddenly spits out, "No way! What were they like?!"

At that moment, Eren freezes. He was just about ingest another spoonful of the stew served to them for supper. His greenish-teal eyes shrink and cloud over as if he's recalling a memory. And by his paling face and the look of sickening partnered with him dropping the spoon in hand back into the bowl so he can cover his mouth before he vomits all over the table, Alanna is certain he's recounting something painful. He's showing sure signs of PTSD. She can only imagine what horrors plague his mind. The girl sends Samuel a glare that reads, "Look what you did."

"Come on. That's enough questions, alright?" Marco intervenes during the silence, "I'm sure he'd rather not relive everything he went through." Alanna almost wanted to smack him for saying that now. That's what she's been trying to say since everyone began to hound the boy from Shinganshina. Eren would not have relived whatever awful moment he did had Marco jumped in earlier.

"Sorry... we didn't mean to-" Connie starts to apologize, but is surprised when Eren waves him off.

Eren boasts, "It's not like that. Those stupid Titans, they're not really that big of a deal. If we focus on mastering the omnidirectional mobility gear they give us, then it's Titan payback time!" He pauses to take an eager bite out of the small loaf of bread awarded with each meal. "I've waited years to be trained as a soldier, all of a sudden the reality is sinking in. I'm joining the Scouting Legion, then I'm sending the Titans back to hell. I'm gonna butcher them all."

Alanna frowns, seeing the underlying darkness in Eren's heart. Sure, she understood the desire to eradicate the Titans, but somehow his way of explaining it made it seem to be nothing more than the ramblings of a madman. Seeking vengeance has tainted his intentions. Certainly, whatever happened back in Shiganshina to him has swayed his judgment. Of course, she is here based solely on guaranteeing Connie's safety rather than fighting the Titans. So, maybe it is too soon or out of place for her to judge Eren and his motives.

"Hey, are you crazy or something?" Jean snorts from the table over. He leans one elbow on the surface to balance his cheek in his palm. The light brunette smirks, "Not that it's my business or anything, but signing up for reconnaissance is asking for a death sentence."

Taking it as a challenge, Eren straightens his back to hiss a retort, "I guess we'll see. Or at least I will." Shots are then fired as Eren digs at Jean's clear, ulterior motives, "You seem content hiding in the Interior with the MPs."

"Look, I'm just speaking honestly here, kid. I think it's better than being some loudmouthed, braggart, tough-guy wannabe pretending he's not as piss scared as the rest of us," Jean insults with a disinterested shrug.

Not to much of anyone's surprise, it strikes a nerve with Eren. He shoots to his feet, staring down his fellow cadet with a look that was worth the statement "if looks could kill." The green-eyed brunette growls, "Are you trying to pick a fight?"

"Hey, that's enough you two," Alanna scolds, trying to step in, "It's only the first day and you're antagonizing each other. No need to have a pissing match about our independent goals." Of course, the second a punch is thrown, it is officially going to be out of her hands. That is, unless a punch gets thrown in her general direction. Then, she'll knock a bitch out.

Jean seemingly ignores the girl, getting up from his own seat so that he and Eren are at a standoff. "Alright, sure! Makes no difference to me." He's a few inches, maybe even a foot taller than Eren with an aura of overwhelming arrogance. If Alanna was in Eren's shoes at this moment, she'd probably have a difficult time in resisting the urge to deck him straight in the mouth.

A bell tolls, signaling the end of dinner time. Now, the cadets are to immediately report to the cabins. Lights out are in an hour or so. The two boys mere seconds away from igniting a fist fight stop. The tension in the air slowly dissipates as the group surrounding Eren and Jean backs off and heads for the cabins, lest they get in trouble for missing curfew.

Jean sighs in a bored fashion, as though the bell ringing ruined his chance at something interesting. "Hey, I apologize. Sorry for calling you names and dismissing your choice of career," he states before extending a hand out to Eren, "Put 'er there, kid. What'dya say?"

Eren's face hardens slightly. It doesn't take much to recognize Jean's insincerity, and like something Alanna would do, it doesn't look like the dark brunette is going to accept his half-baked apology. "Yeah, right... I'm sorry as well..." he mutters, reaching out to take the hand before slapping it away. The boy from Shiganshina who vowed to kill all the Titans turns on his heel to silently stride out of the dining hall.

A pale, raven black-haired girl gets up from her seat nearby to follow after Eren. Alanna remembers Armin calling her Mikasa Ackerman, knowing her from Shiganshina as well. She's pretty sure he mentioned that she is Eren's adoptive sister. That makes a total of three cadets hailing from the ghost town known as Shiganshina. As she passes by Jean, his eyes widen and his head slowly turns with her movements.

"U-uh, excuse me!" Jean calls out, stopping the girl at the door. Nervously rambling, his eyes shoot for the floor as he can barely muster the courage to look directly at the beauty in front of him, "I uhh... I uhh just wanted... I mean... I've never seen anyone like you before."

Suddenly becoming interested in witnessing this go down, Alanna nudges Connie before motioning to the boy with a heavy blush on his face. She has a feeling this is about to get hilarious real fast. Of course, just seeing his reddened face is enough to allow giggles to escape her lips.

Jean nervously dances around on his feet while Mikasa only seems to patiently watch in disinterest. Most likely she stayed out of politeness until the light-haired boy said whatever it is he needed to. He chokes out, "I... I... I-I'm sorry... you have really beautiful black hair..."

"Thank you..." Mikasa replies. Without another word or a second glance, she walks out the door.

Alanna has to bite on her fist before she bursts out laughing, unlike Connie who snorts in amusement. Still, sputtering chuckles emit from her mouth. Never before has she seen such a wondrous spectacle such as that. Jean has just made her day with that ridiculous compliment. And Mikasa's unintentional rejection is priceless as the boy just stands there in a daze. "Well, shit!" she laughs, "That's gotta sting!" She slow claps for the noirette that just smashed Jean's fumbled confession against the wall.

"Hey, let's head over to the cabins before Shadis has a cow," Connie says, tugging at the girl's arm. "You almost got the ass chewing of a lifetime out there this morning."

Alanna shoves him playfully, "And you got to pretend to be a harvested carrot after saluting wrong." The two friends laugh as the walk out to the porch and draw near Jean who'd run out after Mikasa.

Connie yowls as Jean wipes a hand down his back as he and Alanna pass by, "What the hell?!" He reaches behind his head to feel around for whatever was left on the back of his shirt. The hazel-eyed boy demands, angrily, "Leave my clothes alone, dammit!"

Alanna, agitated as well, stomps her foot. Putting her hands on her hips again, she glares at Jean. The auburn-haired girl hisses, "What did you wipe on him?! Apologize!" That absolutely pissed her off to no end. Just who the fuck does this Jean guy think he is to believe it's okay to just wipe whatever is on his hands on another person's item of clothing?! It's not his belongings, he has no right to do so. Alanna carefully inspects the back of her best friend's shirt. She is confused to find nothing out of the ordinary, but still eyes Jean in aggravation over the incident.

"Don't worry..." Jean grumbles with his eyes locked on Mikasa and Eren, "It was just my faith in humanity." It looks as though his confidence has deflated exponentially.

Both kids from Ragako Village look at each other in confusion. Then, shrugging their shoulders as answers to their own question, they move on. It will most likely prove insignificant to ask what bugged him so much in the last few minutes that he'd suddenly become so depressed.

Connie sighs, crossing his arms behind his back. Yawning, he then grins at his best friend, "We're here, Alanna! We're cadets now!"

"Can't say this won't be an interesting three years, not with this bunch," she laughs. _Three years... I only have three more years with Connie... Graduation may result in our separation._ Shaking her head, Alanna clears out the negative thought. She can't think like that. He needs to make it into the Military Police where he'll be safe. She has to be content with parting from him if it means he won't fall victim to the Titans.

"Hey, boys' cabin is right here," Connie interrupts her thinking. He starts up the steps of the wooden building before stopping on the third one up. He gives her a small smile, mumbling, "Goodnight."

"Night, Connie," Alanna murmurs back, "Don't worry. My nightmares have become more infrequent, I'll be okay." She can tell that's what he really wanted to talk about before he went into the cabin with the other boys. The nightmares haven't bothered her sleeping patterns recently, but she also didn't know all the triggers for them yet. And being in cabins divided by gender will prove it difficult to get him if she is driven awake by one. She can't let him worry about her, he has to worry about himself getting in the top ten so he can join the MPs.

Her hazel-eyed best friend sighs, "As long as you say so. Just... don't hesitate to come get me if you have one..." He taps up the stairs and follows Armin in the door. Connie takes one last look back just as the door shuts behind them.

"Alanna! Come on! It's almost lights out!" Hannah Diamant calls from the porch the girls' cabin, waving an arm.

"Coming!" the 12-year-old responds loudly. She gathers the cream-colored skirt of her dress in her hands, lifting the fabric slightly to allow for easier strides while she jogs up to the freckled, redhead who is holding the door for her.

Upon entering the cabin, she finds her fellow female cadets standing around in small groups, idly chatting and giggling. Feeling somewhat shy as she relatively had few friends in Ragako Village, Alanna saunters over to an empty bottom bunk. She reaches a hand to untie her hair, allowing her curls to fall back onto her shoulders.

"Wow! I wish I had hair like yours!" Mina gasps, trotting up to the auburn-haired girl sitting on the lower bed, "It's so pretty!" The noirette twirls a portion of her black locks with her index finger, sighing. "My hair is so straight and boring."

Alanna blushes in embarrassment, but is pleased by the compliment. She scratches at her cheek meekly, murmuring, "T-thank you..."

Hannah and a few other girls convene around the two girls. Within mere minutes, the unfamiliar strangers become the best of friends. Girls are from the same towns, villages, and districts just as much as they are from different ones. Though everyone finds that Alanna is the only girl hailing from Ragako Village. Only two cadets are from that small village in Wall Rose this year; Connie Springer and Alanna Braden.

Changing into her nightgown and messily braiding her hair, Alanna sits down on the edge of her bed. The top bunk still remains unoccupied. Three girls are unaccounted for; Ymir, Krista Lenz, and Sasha Braus. As soon as she figures out who is missing, the trio sneaks in the door. They've made it just before curfew. Krista holds open the door for Ymir who is carrying a passed out Sasha on her back. She's probably dead tired after all the running she did for her punishment.

Seeing the open bed above Alanna, Ymir quickly strides over and climbs up the ladder to plop the sleeping brunette onto the bed. She doesn't say a word to the auburn-haired girl as she clambers back down, instead she chooses the bunk above Krista. Stretching out like a cat, the freckled brunette yawns before fluttering her eyes shut.

Alanna shifts her feet and lays down. She is surprised to find the pillow is quite soft. The 12-year-old slips underneath the blanket, the warmth lulling her to sleep, even in an unfamiliar area. Tomorrow, starts her real training as a cadet.


	5. One's Aptitude Must Fit Their Attitude

With only a day's worth of grueling, back-breaking basic training and long lectures, the cadets are lead out back. Of course, everyone is on pins and needles. They know what today is and the pressure is on. Commandant Shadis stands before a row of tech built to test the cadets' ability to use 3DM gear. He barks loudly, "It's aptitude test time, so listen up! There's no place for you here if you cannot perform! Fail and be shipped to the fields!"

Already, a handful of cadets had been discharged to work in the fields because they were not able to follow through with the training regimen or had failed multiple exams. Some even left due to the harassment they received from Shadis during morning lineup on the first day. It is only the second day and their numbers already decreased significantly. At least a fourth had left yesterday. A fourth! That figure worries Alanna slightly, but she isn't about to give up here. Nothing is worse than being thrown out of the cadets to pull plants all day. That doesn't help Connie survive. It won't help him secure a spot in the top ten either. She shakes her head to rid the doubts in her mind. No, she can do this!

How hard can it really be? It's all about balancing body weight to the belts. She's one of the lightest cadets here, so it shouldn't be too difficult to find her center of balance. Glancing around at the cadets already hooked up and hoisted into the air, she sees that they pretty much seem to be handling the gear pretty well. Sasha is even using her gear as a makeshift swing. It'll be a cinch for her if everyone else is having no issues! Why did she even doubt in the first place?

"What is your major malfunction, Jaeger?!" Shadis' shrill bellow diverts her attention to the left to see just what Eren is doing that pissed him off so much within mere seconds of him taking the aptitude test. Alanna flinches as she witnesses the brunette swaying helplessly upside down with a confused and horrified expression plastered upon his face. Maybe this isn't going to be as easy as she thought... "STRAIGHTEN YOURSELF UP!"

From the looks of it, Eren can't seem to figure out how to properly reposition himself. He struggles around for a minute or so before the drill sergeant gets fed up and fails him. The cadet is then lowered, scolded, and saunters into the crowd of cadets hovering around. He's one of the first failures of the day, judging by all the snickering that suddenly starts up.

"Braden!" the commandant yells, "You're up!" Immediately, the girl's blood turns ice cold, yet she feels like her entire body is burning. Her body stiffens as to boycott the test. However, not about to give Shadis an excuse to either beat the living daylights out of her or ship her off to the fields, she skittishly scurries up to Sasha who is currently being lowered from the pulley.

Alanna draws close, whispering in a desperate tone, "Any advice?! I'm freaking out!" She nervously laughs as Shadis stares at her, his impatience clearly rising from the auburn-haired girls blatant stalling.

Sasha pats her bunk mate and friend's back. The girl from Dauper gives an encouraging grin and chuckles, "You'll do fine! You worry too much!"

"And you don't worry enough..." Alanna mumbles to herself as Sasha trots back into the crowd of cadets formed around the pulley stations. She fumbles to hook herself up to the mechanism with shaking hands, much to her chagrin. If anything, she is more nervous that Shadis is intently observing her than the fact that her peers are all watching her too. "Stop looking at me..." she hisses under her breath as she hooks the last belt. The curly, auburn-haired cadet looks back and nods to Samuel who happens to be manning the pulley system.

The noirette raises an eyebrow and cocks his head. She must have the most panicked expression on her face. She can feel herself sweating. Samuel hasn't even lifted her feet off the ground! He mouths quickly, "Are you sure?"

"Just do it," she responds back before taking in a deep breath. If she isn't in the air within the next few seconds, Shadis is certainly going to fail her on the spot. She can't get kicked out and sent to the fields. Alanna hears the clicking of the pulley and the belts around her waist and legs begin to become taut as her feet slowly lose contact with the ground. _It's okay, Alanna... Don't panic. You've got this!_ Feeling herself wobbling, she readjusts her weight, leaning more towards the right to regain equilibrium. Realizing that she's fully hoisted in the air and not hanging upside like a bat, Alanna almost cheers. There's no way she's failing today! She decides it best to celebrate after Shadis passes her and when both of her feet are back on solid ground.

"Cadet Braden, you're all set. Lower her," Keith Shadis states before moving onto the next set of cadets.

Unbuckling herself from the device, she jogs up to Sasha and Connie who are patiently waiting to congratulate her. They all high five and praise one another for a job well done.

"See! I told you could do it!" Sasha teases, elbowing the other female gently.

Alanna laughs, nudging the girl back, "Yeah, yeah, yeah! Details, details!"

"Poor Eren though," Connie comments, folding his arms and nodding his head to the brunette moping next to Armin and Mikasa, "He's one of the only ones who's failed today. Guess he shouldn't have talked so big the other day."

"Hey! That's rude!" Alanna chastises, lightly punching her best friend's arm. She honestly feels sorry for Eren, but at the same time, she is glad that it was he who failed and not her. There's no way she can afford being forced to go work in the fields. She has to stay here to watch over Connie. Who else is going to make sure he's in the top ten? No one... since they'll all be aiming for spots too.

When dinner is finally served after a hard day of training, all of the meal time buzz seems to revolve around Eren's failure at the aptitude test. What Alanna doesn't get is everyone's fixation on his alone. Plenty of other cadets failed today too. What is the deal with focusing on Eren's failure? Because he bragged about his goal to join the Scouts and then couldn't even pass the aptitude test? It's childish and stupid; a bunch of petty bullshit. Everyone has things they're good at and things they struggle with. She's pretty sure almost half of the people mocking the brunette right now received bad test scores on the exams they took yesterday. They have no right to criticize Eren.

"Hey Daz, he was talking big about butchering all the Titans, but he got real quiet after 3DM training today," one of the male cadets snickers.

Daz adds, "I guess it's off to the fields with him tomorrow. No sense in wasting food on the useless."

Hearing that comment draws the final straw in Alanna's unraveling patience. That coming from the cadet who has a panic attack every five fucking seconds. He should not be ragging on anyone else. The curly-haired cadet wishes she was closer so she could deck Daz right in the mouth. Instead, she jumps to her feet, loudly slamming her empty tray on the table, startling not only the males making fun of Eren, but the cadets seating at the surrounding tables. The whole room goes quiet, staring at the lone, standing person looking as though she's about to mercilessly murder someone. The brown-eyed girl glares at the two boys previously antagonizing their fellow cadet, causing them to settle down out of fear and go back to eating the rest of their supper in silence.

"Damn, Alanna," Jean whistles from across the table, "You almost made them piss themselves." He must find her temper quite amusing to openly taunt her like this. It's only been two days since they both started training as cadets, yet he's already found multiple ways to aggravate her.

"Oh, shut up," she retorts, getting up to put her tray and dirty dishes away as the bell signaling to head to the cabins rings. The last thing she needs right now is Jean heckling her. Lest he aspires to earn a black eye from a fist to the face. Alanna literally only sat at the same table with him because Connie sat there. She's not sure what her best friend sees in Kirstein, but it's not up to her who he befriends. However, that also means she doesn't have to like him either.

Jean places a hand on her shoulder, making her bristle. He scoffs, "Aww, don't be so sensitive! You're no fun!"

He's done it now. Ripping his hand off her shoulder and pinning it behind his back, Alanna threatens, "Don't. Fucking. Touch. Me." She releases him after three seconds of him squirming in pain. The auburn-haired girl jogs up to Mina and Hannah who call her over most likely in order to avoid a fist fight from breaking out between the duo. She knows she overreacted, but he has no right to touch her. They aren't friends, so he should not be all up in her personal space.

"I thought you were gonna punch him," Hannah sighs in relief. From the first day, she was aware that Alanna's temperament completely differed from her own. As someone who will rather do anything to avoid unnecessary confrontation, she often worries about the spats her friend gets into with Jean Kirstein. She knows Alanna has a high tolerance in patience, but Jean always succeeds in teasing her in just the right way to let the girl release her inner hellion.

Mina, on the other hand seems less than thrilled at her friend's temper. The pigtailed noirette scolds, "You're just asking for trouble with that temper of yours! First day, you piss off Shadis, second day, you almost start a brawl with Jean! What are you thinking?!" Honestly, she feels like Alanna's babysitter; always having to remove her from situations involving Jean. The last thing she expects is for the curly-haired cadet to become friends with him, but she'd at least like to see her at least tolerate him so that she doesn't break out into a fist fight with him every time the two come in contact with one another.

"S-sorry... He just... really ticks me off!"

"That's not an excuse! You wanna end up running laps 'til you pass out?!"

"Ok, ok! I get it, Mina!"

Giggling with the girls all the way back to the barracks, Alanna soon finds herself completely exhausted. It's been a long day between the aptitude test and basic training. Preparing for bed early, she lays down in her bunk. Sasha seems to be tired too as she mumbles a hasty "g'night" while climbing up the ladder before noisily flopping down into her bed. Almost immediately, Alanna hears the brunette snoring lightly from above. Exhaling, the redhead soon drifts to sleep as well, even with the sounds of the other girls loudly chattering and the lights of the lanterns illuminating the inside of the wooden cabin.

Fortunately for her and all the others that passed the aptitude test, they get a morning break while those who failed retake the exam. The cadets that passed watch as one by one, the failures are hooked up to the pulley system. Most pass this time but a few here and there fail and therefore will be shipped off to the fields at the end of the day. Of course it is sad, but those who passed cannot wait around until everyone learns how to properly use the 3DM gear. All of the regiments use this equipment, so no one can get away with no knowledge of how to operate the machinery. Finally, it becomes the moment everyone is waiting for... It's Eren's turn.

"You know, he asked me last night for techniques," Connie murmurs to his best friend as they observe from a distance.

Alanna asks, "What did you tell him?" She remembers Eren showing up to dinner last night with a slight head injury after trying to practice for today's final assessment. He must have been looking for tips to pass today. If he fails, he's done.

"I didn't tell him anything," the hazel-eyes boy responds, "It's not my fault he can't do it."

His best friend bristles again, clearly agitated by him. She hisses, "What the fuck, Connie?! He came to you for help and you didn't do anything?! The fuck is wrong with you?!" Alanna punches him square in the chest, causing him to cough and double over.

Connie sputters, "O-ow! You d-don't have to h-hit me, you know!" He straightens up but flinches as he meets her eyes, sharpened by her apparent anger. As someone who has been a frequent recipient of her anger as a child, he knows exactly when he needs to button his trap. Now just so happens to be that time.

"How would you like it if you went to Eren for help and he did the same to you?! You're such an asshole!" the curly, auburn-haired cadet reprimands. They may not have known each other all that long, but everyone here are fellow cadets. They all need to support one another. That's what comradery is all about. If someone fails, they all fail, especially if they choose to ignore a peer's pleas for assistance in a time of need.

"Jean didn't help him either!"

"I don't give two shits about what Jean did or did not do! That still doesn't make it right! I better see you apologize to Eren later today, or so help me, I will make your life miserable for the next few weeks!"

"Ok, jeez! Calm down, I'm sorry! I'll apologize to Eren!"

"Eren Jaeger, are you ready?" Commandant Keith Shadis asks, his hands folded behind him in a relaxed stance.

Eren shouts eagerly, "Yes, sir!"

His whole demeanor is completely different from the day prior. He oozes self-confidence and determination. Everyone seems anxious as if to anticipate his failure. No one seems certain of the outcome. Is he going to pass? Or is he going to end up repeating yesterday's glorious display? But Alanna notices that Reiner does not seem as tense as the others. And neither does Mikasa. She recalls the collected noirette mentioning that it doesn't matter if her adoptive sibling passed or failed today; if he is to be shipped off to the fields, Mikasa will be leaving as well. Perhaps that's why she seems so calm about this whole situation, not that she has ever really shown much emotion in general. No matter what the outcome is, the result will be the same. Wherever Eren ends up, Mikasa will too.

"Proceed."

Thomas cranks the lever, hoisting Eren slowly into the air. His test begins now. Unlike before, Eren is more calm and collected. His body is not as rigid as before. He evenly distributes his weight, clenching his teeth to keep his focus on balancing. He's going to pass this time! The seconds tick by and Eren has yet to even wobble a fraction.

"YEEEEAH!" the cadets all cheer, enticed by Eren's determination. After failing miserably yesterday, it is a complete surprise to see how well he's handling the 3DM gear today. They all wrongly misjudged him.

"AHH!" Eren's shrill yowl alerts everyone. The cheers all stop as they witness the brunette wobble wildly as he struggles to regain his balance. His peers all gasp in horror as he flips upside down just like his previous test. He had it though! What the hell happened?! Is he really unable to properly use the 3DM gear?

Alanna mutters sadly, "Damn shame… He was so close..." Surely Shadis will see that he is clearly getting the hang of it and allow him to continue training. He couldn't be that unreasonably cruel, even for a drill sergeant. The commandant is human somewhere deep down.

"No! Not yet!" Eren argues as the commandant approaches him, "Once more! I can do it!" He furiously tries to flip himself upright by using his arms to propel him to the proper position to no avail. He becomes more frantic the closer Shadis draws. It's painful to watch the sheer desperation of Eren's actions.

Shadis ignores the brunette's desperate pleas, "Lower him." Everyone groans in disappointment. They all witnessed how close Eren was to passing. But coming close does not mean passing.

Completely stunned, Eren drops to his knees the second his feet touch the ground. It's clear from his eyes that are starting to water over that he's overwhelmed with shame. He'd been so close and then everything went to hell. Alanna catches him murmur something but is too far away to catch it. It doesn't really matter, it looks like Shadis will be shipping by him with the other failures to the fields following the end of training today. Today may just be the last day they all see Eren and Mikasa ever again. That just does not want to sit well for her, but she is aware that there is absolutely nothing she can do in this situation. She has no power here. This is out of her hands and arguing to keep Eren may only succeed in costing Alanna her stay here. She has to let things take their own course, no matter how much she may disagree with the outcome.

"Wagner, please exchange belts with Mr. Jaeger."

Obviously confused at where their drill sergeant is going with this, the blonde unconsciously answers, "Huh?" Recovering soon after, Thomas straightens up. He shouts, "Y-yes, sir!"

Everyone else begins to murmur quietly. Is Shadis giving Eren one last chance? But why switch belts with Thomas? It's the same mechanism... Alanna isn't too sure why her commandant wanted the two boys to exchange belts. If Eren isn't able to balance using his belts, what chance did he have using Thomas'. But if it gives her peer another chance at passing, she's not about to bicker with the drill sergeant. She crosses her fingers in superstition, praying that Eren passes this time.

Almost right away, everyone can see the difference. Once hoisted into the air, Eren does not struggle once to retain his balance. In fact, it looks as though he barely has to shift his weight at all. From the surprised look on the brunette's face, that must be the case.

"Your equipment was defective," Keith Shadis explains while holding Eren's broken gear in his hands, "If given a piece of functional gear, you might not be useless after all. Someone didn't notice this broken clasp... Might have to visit the supply depot and crack a couple skulls." From what Alanna can see from where she is standing, the metal clasp on the belt is bent so far that the 3DM gear can't lock in place to support Eren's body weight. That's why he kept flipping over.

"He still did it, even while wearing that busted gear!"

"Amazing..."

Eren gasps, "You mean I didn't wash out?!"

"You made the cut," Shadis responds, "Now keep training cadet!"

Eren is ecstatic. He throws his arms up in the air, giving a loud whoop to which many of his fellow cadets answer with cheers of their own. The excitement in the air is almost contagious as the cadets all become giddy and riled up. Though, they soon chill out as Shadis angrily chastises for the horseplay to stop. The brunette happily beams in the general direction of his group of friends.

"It seems like things worked out for him." Reiner comments, folding his arms.

Armin laughs, "Look, his eyes are saying 'check me out!'" He's so glad that his best friend was able to pass this time. Now he won't have to go out to the fields; something Eren dreaded as it meant he could never accomplish his dream of joining the Scouts to battle the Titans.

"They're not." Mikasa disagrees almost instantly. The others look at her in confusion. What else could it be? She has to be reading too much into this.

"Huh?" Alanna asks for further clarification, "What do you mean, Mikasa?"

"His eyes are saying he doesn't have to leave me... not anymore."

Alanna chuckles uncomfortably in disagreement. She's sure Armin hit it right on the nose. It seems more like Mikasa is clouded with the idea that Eren is solely devoted to sticking together with her... when in fact, it seems like Eren wants nothing more than to be independent from her. Somehow, Alanna gets the impression he's not too fond of how dependent Mikasa makes him feel. Of course, the auburn-haired girl isn't about to lecture her about giving Eren space and let him do his own thing. She's just glad Eren doesn't have to leave and can continue training with the rest of them who had passed. It honestly wouldn't be the same without the loudmouth boy from Shiganshina. It will just be too weird.

Nearing the end of the day, the cadets that passed the 3DM gear aptitude test are ordered to gear up in the actual field. They are lead out to the forest near the training camp in order to become acclimated with using the gear for maneuvering. Within minutes, they are already racing one another through the forest, whipping past Shadis as he gallops on his horse below.

Alanna grins at the absolute rush of she feels from the wind blowing against her face. She can't believe how intense it feels to cut through the tree line with her 3DM gear. She cheers loudly, earning a hearty laugh from Hannah, Mina, and Sasha who are following closely behind. She signals with her eyes a challenge to her friends: "Just try and catch me~!" Flipping backwards once in the air before propelling herself forward with the use of her cables, the cadet from Ragako Village chases the lowering sun to reach the checkpoint for today's training. It'll take some practice, but soon she'll be maneuvering around like a pro!


	6. Pulled into the Cross-Hairs

Of all the goddamn people she can be paired with today for sparring, it has to be Jean Kirstein. It's just her luck. She would have gladly accepted sparring with Reiner, Bertolt, or Eren. Hell, even Armin would be sufficient! This guy doesn't even try to train when it comes to hand-to-hand combat. On multiple occasions she's caught him dicking around with various partners. Clearly, Jean doesn't care. It's only been a year since they joined the cadets, and he's taken no initiative to improve his sparring skills. How does he expect to get into the MPs if he doesn't try to improve in all of his training, not just in 3DM gear control?! If anything, he's impeding on his chances by fooling around and not giving a damn about combat training. God help him if she gets in trouble because he's not taking this seriously. He certainly will not be taking her down with him. In fact, she'll be more than happy to throw him under the bus.

"Does a scowl always have to be plastered on your face?" Jean teases, "It doesn't do anything good for your skin." He repetitively tosses the wooden dagger into the air slightly and catches it, clearly messing around already. Whistling while continuing to toss the weapon around, the light-haired cadet seems completely disinterested with even attempting to train. It's like he can't be bothered with the burden of hard work. He doesn't deserve to be here in Alanna's books.

Alanna rolls her eyes and spits back, "Because I can totally afford to be worried about my complexion in the first place. Jean, do me a favor and zip the lip."

She'd like nothing more than to give him a swift kick to the crotch. That would shut him up real fast. But of course, unprovoked violence is not acceptable; Shadis would have her running laps until she dropped dead. Looking around, it seems that many of the other cadets have begun their sparring matches. Maybe there's still enough time for her to ask Mikasa to switch partners with her just for today. At least Krista tries... On second thought, she shouldn't dump him on the top of the class. Though, it would be pretty damn entertaining to watch the noirette hand Jean's ass to him on a silver platter.

"Only if you can pin me on my back," he says with a flirtatious wink.

"Oh, shut the hell up and give me the goddamn knife!" she responds with flushed cheeks. She knows that his innuendo is nothing more than a vain attempt to get her all flustered and unfocused. _He's such a tool..._ Alanna easily catches the wooden weapon that Jean lightly throws to her. The girl grips the knife in her hands while the boy tenses in a bored, uncaring stance, not even bothering to stifle a yawn.

Angered that he's still not taking training, and more obviously her, seriously, Alanna lunges. However, Jean merely shifts to the side to dodge her. As she passes, he nudges her back, causing her to stumble. The auburn-haired girl curses all the while swiftly turning on the ball of her foot to attack him again. Once again, he simply sidesteps as his longer legs make it easy to avoid her. To further antagonize her, Jean sticks a foot out to trip her and then gives her back another, this time a more forceful, shove.

Unbalanced from the paired trip-and-push, the brown-eyed girl lands flat on her stomach with a thud. Winded as the oxygen rushes out of her lungs, Alanna wheezes, propping herself up by her forearms. She spits out some stray dirt that flew into her mouth, gagging. The female cadet snaps her head in her opponent's direction, sending Jean an agitated glare.

"Oops, you okay, Alanna?" the brunette asks sarcastically. A satisfied smirk curls onto his lips as he snickers at the result of his dirty trick. Now, he's just asking for a fist fight.

"Fuck you, Jean," she curses, settling onto her knees, "You're such an asshole..."

Suddenly, she's yanked uncomfortably upward to her feet from behind. Gasping, the 13-year-old squeezes her eyes shut for a moment at the intense, sharp pain at the back of her head. Jean has grabbed her by her ponytail and is standing directly in her blind spot. Restraining her dominant hand behind her with his free hand, the brunette tugs at her hair roughly to elicit a yelp from Alanna. Jean laughs, "Guess having long, curly hair does you no good! It's easier to keep ahold of than straight hair. Bad choice on your part for not cutting it."

"Let go! Ow! That hurts, you jerk!" she yowls. The more she squirms, the harder Jean yanks at her hair. Alanna winces at the slight pain coming from her scalp. Her ponytail has loosened slightly, but even if it comes untied, Jean still has a firm grip on her hair. The knife isn't in her dominant hand, but it hardly meant anything for her. She can't swing wildly or else she risks stabbing herself. But... she has to do something to best him.

"Hey! Jean, let her go! Come on, that's not cool, man!" Connie calls over, noticing the brunette restricting his best friend's movements by pulling at her hair. "If you're gonna take the knife, just take the knife from her already!"

Sasha comes to Alanna's aid as well, "Connie's right! Don't be so mean! You're obviously hurting her!" She stomps her foot to further emphasize her point. She knows fully well how painful it can be when someone yanks and or pulls at your hair. Jean is clearly doing this for fun; he's getting a kick over hurting her bunkmate and friend.

"If she wants to get free, she'll do it herself!" Jean laughs.

 _Challenge accepted._ In a flash of movement, Alanna instinctively swings her arm behind her. Instead of slashing Jean as everyone expected, she runs the wooden blade underneath the base of her ponytail and through her hair, slicing it clean off. Wasting no time after freeing herself, the 13-year-old grips one of Jean's forearms tightly before vaulting him over her shoulder and onto his back in the dirt.

The brunette boy mutters out whines of pain, his eyes squeezed shut. He coughs to clear some of the dusty sediment that flew into his mouth upon impact with the ground. The auburn-haired, teen straddles herself atop Jean's chest, leaning over to point the tip of the wooden blade against his neck.

"You're on your back. I'm done," she hisses, moving the weapon's blade ever closer to his throat. Jean gulps, feeling the dagger at his skin. Her brown eyes burn angrily into his own which makes him shrink slightly in fear. Evidently, he's done something he shouldn't have; he took his joke too far. She looks like she's debating on how she's going to brutally murder him. Alanna gets off of him before hurling the weapon in hand at the ground with an angry yowl. She storms off, fully enraged. Yup, his joking definitely went too far this time.

She spent years growing out her hair. It took forever to grow that long. Her body moved without thinking. In a real life situation, she may have just earned herself an escape from someone trying to capture her. But this is just training. She had no real need to slice off her ponytail if Jean hadn't decided to play dirty. Now, she's stuck with a messy, uneven bob. "It's his fucking fault!"

Because Alanna caught him so off guard by grappling him with no warning, it takes Jean a second to realize that he's still clutching her ponytail in his fist. "YAAAAAAH!" he shrieks, shooting to his feet and dropping the chunk of curly, red hair.

Connie jogs up and while looking at the wad of hair on the ground, whistles, "Alanna is going _**kill**_ you... She doesn't cut her hair... _**ever**_." He can recall the Braden girl pitching a fit every time she had to get a slight trim, even if it meant her hair would grow healthier. He's pretty sure her late mother almost had to tie her down a few times so she could cut her daughter's hair.

"Better hope she doesn't 'accidentally' mistake you for one of the Titan dummies during target practice," Eren Jaeger comments with a snicker as he passes by with Reiner Braun. He then traces a finger across his throat to allude to Jean's undetermined fate.

Jean throws up his arms in defense, "How the hell was I supposed to know she'd do that?! I didn't think she could move!"

Reiner sighs, staring at the auburn-haired girl storming for the cabin. He pats Jean's shoulder, all the while trying to stifle a laugh, "You are just not having it with the ladies here. Connie might be right, Alanna may just kill you." They've all trained with one another for a year, Reiner knows the curly-haired, redhead has high patience levels unless it comes to Jean antagonizing her. And she certainly is no pushover when it comes to fighting. He's certainly taken a punch or two from her during sparring. "Maybe you need some sensitivity training before the girls all decide to join forces against you."

"Connie, you gotta reason with her!" the boy from Trost frantically pleads, "I was only messing around!" He pales at the thought of being gutted like a fish at the hands of one of his fellow cadets with it only being a year into training. He knows Alanna has quite the temper, but this is a whole new level. She hasn't even openly threatened him, yet he's scared shitless.

Connie puts his hands up in objection. "Oh, hell no! I can calm her down, but I am not apologizing for you! Ain't no way I'm getting my ass kicked to try and save yours from a deserved ass whooping!" Sighing, figuring that his best friend is probably flipping out, he rubs the back of his head. Turning to Sasha, he requests, "Cover for me. I'm gonna make sure she's not wrecking the place or destroying Jean's stuff."

"My stuff?! W-wait, she wouldn't, right?!"

The Springer boy ignores Jean's feeble protests about how it was all a harmless joke, jogging after the Braden girl. Connie has known Alanna for years. She is a forgiving person unless you truly rub her the wrong way. And since Jean always goes out of his way to torment her daily and caused her to slice off the majority of her precious hair off, she won't be forgiving him so easily… if ever. It may have been a harmless prank to Jean, but the redhead girl certainly will view it as a hostile attack on her self-esteem.

Connie witnesses her enter the girls' cabin and wonders exactly what she planned on doing in there. She must realize the trouble she will get into for ditching sparring training, even if she had some sort of a valid reason. Not that their drill sergeant will see it as a valid reason to abandon training. Actually, Shadis would probably just tell her to grow up, get over it, and get back to sparring...

He knocks twice before entering the unknown territory. Connie has never ever, ever trespassed into the girls' cabin. And for good reason; not only would Alanna beat the living daylights out of him, but certainly so would Ymir, Annie, and Mikasa. The other guys always joked about peeping in on their female cadets, but honestly he's too afraid of, not the commandant but, Alanna's wrath to even choose to go along with it. She'd beat him within an inch of his life, nurse him back to health, just to knock him around again.

"Alanna?" he gently calls as to not to recklessly step on eggshells, "You're in here, right?" The interior is just like the boys', but the overall scent inside is about one hundred times better. He should probably mention to the other male cadets about improving their hygiene… or would that seem weird? The hazel-eyed boy rolls his eyes. He really needs to stop having more girls as friends than boys. Then again, both Sasha and Alanna would label him as a sexist jerk. Hearing light sniffles, Connie forces himself to venture farther in. About 2 beds away, the girl sits on her bottom bunk, staring at her reflection in the hand mirror in her shaking hands.

He can already see why the new haircut has her in tears. There are uneven sections framing her face as they had not been tied back in the ponytail. In all brutal honesty, it looks stupid. But he'd never openly admit that to her. Why kick her while she's already down? His heart sinks as the hazel-eyed, buzzed cut-haired boy observes his best friend pitch the mirror to the floor with a whine. Alanna then hunches over to cry into her hands. This act completely shatters his heart. Connie huffs in slight anger at Jean. _He really shouldn't have restrained her by her hair. That's fucked up... even for him..._

The boy hailing from Ragako Village cautiously approaches, standing just before Alanna who lifts her head when his footsteps stop. She doesn't say anything. She just stares back with saddened, red and puffy, tear-filled eyes. He didn't want to see her like this again. He pats the girl's head, soothing, "It's not the end of the world. Nothing we can't fix with some scissors."

"I DON'T WANT MY HAIR CUT!" she yowls, turning on her bed so that her back faces her best friend, "I look stupid with short hair!" Having short hair always made her already young-looking face look even younger. She isn't too fond of having her age being mistaken. People treat her by how old she looks, not how old she actually is. She doesn't appreciate being regarded as a child when she lost that role a long time ago.

"I think you look cute with short hair."

"Don't lie just to flatter me. I know when you're lying."

"But I'm not! Short hair looks good on you! Hell, I'd go as far to say as it looks better on you!" he argues, not about to let his best friend talk negatively about herself. She's already been trapped in a dark place once. He is not about to allow her to go back there again. If she does, he might not be able to retrieve her.

Spotting a pair of scissors lying on a nearby table, he jogs over to pick up the tool. Returning back to Alanna, Connie then picks up the surprisingly undamaged mirror at their feet. He leans over his friend's shoulder in order to capture her reflection. "Look, if we even out these sections, it won't look so bad."

Putting down the mirror, the boy takes the scissors in hand and measures the amount of hair he has to cut to fix the uneven parts. Sure, he's never really cut hair before, but he figured now is a good a time as any to learn. Besides, how bad could he possibly screw up? He pauses for a moment... Maybe he shouldn't answer that question. Besides, if he gets nervous while cutting her hair, he risks making the situation worse. The girl would end up killing him with the very scissors in his hands without even batting an eyelid if he screws up her hair more. With a few clicks on each side of her head he's done and nods his head at the mirror for Alanna to access his work. "Have a look."

Alanna hesitantly picks the mirror back up. Raising it to her face, she closes her eyes. She takes in a deep breath and holds it until she gathers enough courage to look at her reflection. Upon opening her brown orbs, she gasps as she is surprised at the girl staring back in the glass. Her new style isn't even as half as bad as she thought it was going to look. In fact, she preferred it to her old look. It isn't even that short, her hair falls to about her neck. It would have been much shorter if her ponytail hadn't been loosened so much during her struggle against Jean's grip.

"Sooo... what do you think?" Connie asks reluctantly as the girl has remained silent since seeing her new haircut. He finds her quietness nerve-wracking; he feared she hated it and was going to take it out on him for making it worse. Should he take this awkward pause in dialogue as his hint to start running now? He may just bolt for good measure…

Alanna grins happily, wiping the residual tears from earlier away, "I love it! Connie, you're the best!"

Connie laughs, rubbing the back of his head, "It was nothing, I'm just glad you like it." He sighs in relief that he was able to calm her down and fix her hair problem. Though, he can't guarantee she won't try and get Jean back for this. If there is one thing he knows about her best, it's that she doesn't take pranks of any sort well. As someone who has personally experienced Alanna's revenge plans, the hazel-eyed, 13-year-old doesn't envy the light-haired brunette one bit. The cocky boy from Trost is in for hell.

Still, that isn't exactly what's bothering him at the moment. "We better get back to training or else Shadis will skin us alive."

"Shit, you're right!"

The two cadets hailing from Ragako Village book it out of the girls' barracks and head straight back to where their peers are continuing their matches. Sasha and Jean seemingly are in the middle of a session, most likely to draw attention away from their missing partners. Of course, seeing Jean actually fighting this time ignites a small flame of anger in the redhead.

She cracks her knuckles with an annoyed huff. Alanna turns to Connie, questions, "Since they're in the middle of something. How's about going a round or two against me?"

All the color suddenly drains from her best friend's face. She glances back to see if Shadis is towering behind her and is surprised to find that he is not. The curly-haired girl tilts her head to the side in confusion. Connie sputters, "Uhhh... I know how well you can punch... And after seeing you throw Jean to the ground only twenty minutes ago... I think I'll pass. I like living."

"I'm not gonna kill you, jeez!"

"No, but I don't want to be your punching bag either..."

"What makes you say that?!"

"The fact that you cracked your knuckles and have a death stare locked on Jean... I think you're good for today..."

Alanna huffs, putting her hands on her hips, "You're being ridiculous. Stop stalling before you get us in huge trouble!" She tenses in a fighting stance, not really caring if her unofficial sparring partner is ready for her or not. _Punching bag… what a drama queen…_

"I'm serious, Alanna!" Connie shouts, putting his hands up in a non-threatening, submissive manner to further emphasize his point, "I'm not fighting you!" If he agrees to a sparring match with her right now so she can blow off pent up steam, he's just signing his own death wish.

Her eyes flicker in agitation and thinning patience. The boy flinches but isn't about to back down just yet. Of course, that's what his intentions were until his best friend suddenly kicks his feet out from under him. Laying on the ground for a moment, Connie groans in slight pain. He coughs, propping himself up to a sitting position. He glares at the red-haired girl whistling a pleasant, happy tune as though she is completely innocent. The hazel-eyed boy mutters while rubbing the back of his head, "Real mature, Alanna. Real mature."

"Hey, if you're not gonna defend yourself, you deserved that."

"It was a lucky shot anyway. Give me the knife over there, I'll prove it."

Alanna retrieves the knife left in the dirt from her meltdown earlier. She hands it to Connie before taking a few steps back to position herself defensively. "Go ahead then, tough guy."

He really hates it when she gets like this. God, why did she have to inherit her father's stubbornness?! Sometimes he really wished she had her mother's temperament, bless the late woman's soul. Connie clenches his grip on the wooden dagger, rushing at the girl. Then he pulls back, expecting her to swing at him. She does pull back for a punch, unbeknownst that her friend read her movements. The boy lunges to "stab" her to complete the exercise, however, Alanna simply swings her leg up, roundhouse kicking his wrist so that he drops the weapon with a painful howl. Of course, she's not exactly done. The redhead grabs her best friend by the arm, ducks under it, and uses the momentum to toss him over her shoulder and into the dirt, much like she did to Jean earlier.

"OW!" Connie shouts, sitting up while massaging his now sore back, "WHERE ARE YOU LEARNING THIS BULLSHIT?!" That's twice in a row she's slammed him square on his back. He's aware she is perfectly capable of throwing sturdy punches. But now she can apparently grapple people more than twice her height and weight, as demonstrated with Jean, not to mention that disarming method she just used. Has he been missing some combat lessons or something?

Alanna just casually rolls her shoulders as if to release some tension that built up in her muscles. "Easy, unlike a lot of you, I'm serious about training, even if that means getting my ass kicked to learn new things. I don't have time to dick around here." She looks across the training grounds at other cadets continuing their matches, taking especially careful observations of Eren, Mikasa, and occasionally Annie when she's not caught trying to sneak away. Those three have plenty of moves she can use to her advantage. And since both Eren and Mikasa took training as seriously as she did, Alanna paired off with one of them whenever she could. The curly-haired girl adds, "And you don't either if you want to get into the MPs."

"Whatever you say, Mom..."

"Shut up! You'll be pissed if I snag your spot!"

"Well, you're not gonna! But what you are gonna do is teach me some of those new moves you've been holding out on me!"

"One learns best through experience..." Alanna smirks, cracking her knuckles again and takes another defensive stance.

Connie flatly groans, knowing he's about to walk into a world of pain, "Yaaaaaay..."

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 **A/N: This is one of the last updates you will receive in a short time frame. These chapters were pre-written before I decided to post the story. I got up to seven chapters, so the next one is the last one you may see for a while. But I'm no longer taking the summer course I was expecting, so I'll have the chance to write a bit more... though that depends on my work schedule since I work at least 16 hours a week. The problem is that I usually work the closing shifts, so I'm less inclined to write after I get home. Anyway, that's enough from me. Feel free to leave a review!**


	7. Highly Unexpected

**A/N: This chapter is based off the events of the third OVA. That being said, enjoy the read! Feel free to leave a review!**

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This is the first of the major training exercises being held since they all joined the 104th Cadet Corps last year. Alanna and all of her fellow cadets are split into two groups to complete this mission.

The exercise seems simple enough: make a round trip to the target location and record the progress the group made within a given time period. The journey to the checkpoint runs about forty kilometers. Both teams will set out at the same time, proceeding for the large, deciduous forest that leads to the checkpoint where the teams are to trade information and return back to the starting point. The objective of this drill was to evaluate everyone's ability to sustain themselves in the absence of a crisis.

"That is all. Straightforward and simple. It could be thought this training is one that even you cowards could easily pass, but it's not. In any situation, do not forget your will to fight! Emergency or not, a soldier is always a soldier! Do not succumb to peaceful boredom! Never stop exercising on your hands and feet! This training is also a battle! Do not forget that!" Shadis had thoroughly communicated exactly what he expected out of the two groups of cadets. How they perform will determine their tenacity as potential soldiers.

"So... we're not allowed to rush?" Marco asks Armin, who is in charge of keeping their team's records. He was surprised when everyone elected him leader, thinking that anyone else must be better suited. In fact, he still feels that way. But his team believed in him so he can't just let them down now.

"I wouldn't see the point," Alanna comments, "We'd just end up waiting for the other team and burn ourselves out."

Jean adds, "We'd be stupid if we did. We can take our time and soak up the scenery."

"We don't know our limits!" Eren chastises, "Jean, if you're going to take it slow, then I'm going ahead." He nudges his horse's sides, signaling for the animal to quicken its pace.

"W-wait, Eren..." Armin stutters, attempting to stop his friend from breaking off from the group. Though, his words fall on deaf ears per usual as the dark-haired boy continues on past.

Alanna jogs her horse forward, cutting the brunette off. She scolds, "Didn't we just discuss about not rushing?! We have to complete this as a team! You can't just go off on your own because you feel like it!" The 13-year-old male glares at her as though to allude to his apparent displeasure of being lectured by a fellow cadet. The redhead knows fully well that Eren doesn't like being told what to do when it came from his peers and friends. Not that he handles authority much better. He prefers to do his own thing which often gets him in a hell of a lot of trouble.

Sensing the rising tension between the male and female, Marco reins his mount over. "Now, now... she does have a point. If you go off on your own, we'll screw up the formation."

"Whatever..." Eren grumbles, turning his head to the side.

Alanna just huffs and trots back to her original position between Sasha and Connie. She doesn't have the patience to deal with this today. It's been at least a few hours since they left the training grounds and they've been riding non-stop in this heat awarded to them by the blazing sun. Honestly, she's internally screaming from frustration and slight exhaustion.

"What should we do, Jean?" Marco questions his friend, looking for an honest opinion. The rising tension risks destroying their group from the inside. They need to get through this exercise without any hitches or they'll all be in huge trouble with the commandant, a situation he rather avoid at all costs.

"Like I care!" Jean scoffs, "Extra effort here won't get me into the Military Police."

"No effort won't get you in either, lazy bastard..." Alanna mutters quietly under her breath. This is her exact point. Most of the cadets aiming for the MPs don't even put the proper amount of energy that should be required into all of their training. They don't deserve to get in.

"How about instead of mumbling it to yourself like a coward, you say it to my face?" Jean growls, clearly having heard her remark.

"Fine. You're a _**lazy**_... _ **bastard**_ ," Alanna repeats bluntly and with no hesitation. She's still angry at him over him causing her to cut her hair, even though the event happened a few months ago. Since then, their already strained relationship had a significant increase in arguments; their fighting became so frequent that even Commandant Keith Shadis noticed. That's why they have been assigned to the same squad for this drill; to see if they can complete the task at hand by putting their differences aside for a single exercise.

"Oh yeah? Well, fuck you too!" Jean curses, starting to turn his horse around. He is perfectly aware that Alanna is still hung up over the whole hair incident. Honestly, he thinks it's a bunch of childish bullshit. She needs to just get over it. It's hair; it can grow back. But from what he's heard, she's quite fond of the new style. So it's ridiculous that she's even holding a grudge over it.

"Hey, hey!" Marco snaps, stopping the light-haired brunette, "Enough with the fighting! Let's just get on with the exercise." Even before they set out, he expected sparks to fly between the three known hotheads of the cadets. He just didn't expect the jabs at each other to be every other two or three minutes. The scorching heat must be a factor. The freckled-noirette sighs. It's going to be a hell of a long journey if the trio keeps up the infantile bickering. He glances over at the team's record-keeper. It looks as though Armin is debating on writing down the catcalls between Jean and Alanna. If he does, not only will those two be in deep shit, but so will the rest of them for not getting along while completing the training assignment.

Jean rolls his eyes in response. He mumbles with a bored expression plastered on his face, "This is useless..."

"Don't you have any endurance for this?" Eren grumbles in annoyance. All Jean's done since they started is whine about the mission. Though, he bitches and moans about just about everything else, so he really shouldn't be so surprised. He honestly has no idea why the boy from Trost is even here. To get into the Military Police? All he does he is goof off and strut around like some cocky brat who thinks himself hot shit.

"It doesn't matter if I'm complaining." Jean spits back.

Connie sighs, "It would be great if time passed faster in that case." The heat is really making him tired. And with all the tension that's been coursing through their group, he's ready for a break. Perhaps if they do stop for a bit, he can attempt at helping Alanna cool her head. His best friend is clearly irritated.

"You got that right..." Sasha agrees, "We have a long road ahead of us." All she really wants is something to eat and drink to take her mind off the heat. And the brunette female surmises everyone might possibly be on edge because they're hungry and thirsty too. Lots of people get crabby while working on an empty stomach.

"And whining will get us nowhere," Alanna reminds. In fact, all the bellyaching is just making the time go by slower. Maybe if everyone focused on getting the mission done, the time would pass by quicker.

Jean quickly mumbles, "This is so tiresome..."

No one pipes in this time. They probably figured that any further argument right now will only end in a delay in the completion of the exercise. The group remains silent as to release any agitation that's building up. They just need to keep moving. They can all take a break once they reach the forest.

"Jeez... That lizard's joining us on the same route." Jean scoffs as he observes the rather large, grayish reptile run alongside his mount. It seems to not care about the group of humans and their horses travelling with it.

"It's rare to see them," Marco mentions, quite surprised that they are in such close proximity to the creature, let alone having spotted it. This one must be particularly bold for it to wander so near to the group. They're a pretty skittish animal and don't normally approach humans. The lizard seems perfectly content parading alongside them as they complete their training. It's completely unfazed by the plodding hooves of the horses.

Alanna beams happily, lightly giggling, "How cool is it that we're seeing one this close?!" She isn't like most girls. Snakes and other reptiles do not scare her. It's probably due to growing up in Ragako Village, playing with Connie outside rather than remaining inside playing with dolls along with some of the other girls in the village. She recalls having no issue picking up small snakes and lizards, though her mother was less than thrilled when her daughter would occasionally bring the creatures home to show off before being forced to release them exactly where Alanna had found them.

"They're delicious, you know!" Sasha adds cheerfully.

"What?" Krista gasps, looking shocked and almost horrified that Sasha is implying that she's actually eaten lizard meat before. She nearly gags. The small, blonde girl can't imagine ever being desperate enough to consume reptile meat.

"They really are. My family and I used to eat them," the brunette girl from Dauper Village reassures with a grin, "They taste like chicken." Even she was a bit skeptical the first time she had been served lizard. But the meat really did taste like chicken. Had she not been informed, she would have never suspected a thing.

"No shit?" Alanna gasps in amazement. She wonders, had the people in Ragako Village known that they could consume reptile meat as sustenance, if the famine would not have been so severe for them. Then again, she's not too positive if there were any reptiles big enough to feed the families of the village. She never really handled anything bigger than two inches or so since they were difficult to find in the first place.

Sasha replies with a slight nod, "Mhmm! You'd never taste the difference!"

"You can cook?" Jean asks, his interest piqued.

"Of course I can!" Sasha admits, proudly, "Piece of cake!" Everyone in her family is taught to cook at a young age since she hails from a hunting village in the mountain. Cooking is second nature to the Braus lineage. It's a skill required for survival back home. Those who can't cook or live off the land... don't last.

Jean then lets out a loud whoop, "Alright, then!" He suddenly spurs his horse into a gallop to chase after the now frightened lizard. Obviously, he is trying to kill it so they can all take a break to eat it.

"H-hey!" Marco yells. They don't have time for this! What's gotten into him?! This stunt is only going to further delay them!

"If hunting for food is part of the exercise, then what's better than getting a lizard?!" Jean shouts back, continuing after the reptile.

Krista shouts in protest, "Don't do that!" The large reptile had just been minding its own business. It did nothing to Jean and it's not threatening any of them. There's no reason to try and kill it. He shouldn't just leave it alone and focus on getting to the checkpoint.

"No one said we were hunting for food in this exercise, you nimrod! Leave the poor thing alone!" Alanna yells an insult to attempt to trick Jean into abandoning his chase of the lizard and rejoin the group. Of course, he simply ignores her and gallops after the fleeing creature.

"I'm going ahead!" Eren announces, tearing off after Jean. He's most likely going to try and sabotage the hunt so the AWOL cadet will be forced to return to the formation and they can continue the training exercise without any further issues.

Alanna grumbles, "It's always Jean!" She nudges her horse to join the chase. She'll help Eren stop Jean so everyone can regroup. This little charade of his is seriously going to negatively affect them. "Why can't we all just get the assignment done without straying from the objective?!"

Galloping towards the two boys in front of her, she witnesses Eren intercept Jean's blade so he can't harm the lizard. The reptile pauses with a blank expression before continuing on its merry way as though nothing had occurred. Alanna trots up just as the two start arguing again.

Jean shouts, "What are you doing?!" He was so close to scoring a free meal for everyone. Then, Eren has to ruin it by allowing the lizard to escape.

"This isn't a game!" Eren hisses back.

"We don't even have an instructor! This training won't get us anywhere!"

"Stop it!" Marco scolds as he rides up, starting to really become fed up with the juvenile behavior. He's seriously debating on calling it quits on the mission. If it's going to be like this until they reach the checkpoint, the freckled boy may just lose his mind along with every bit of his patience. He doesn't know how Commandant Shadis can handle the rowdy cadets day in and day out.

"You're both acting like brats!" Connie scolds, riding up and reining in beside the auburn-haired female.

Immediately, that strikes a nerve with Jean. He angrily chides, "I don't want to hear that coming from _**you**_!" The boy from Ragako Village has the mentality of a toddler, therefore, he has no room or right to be lecturing him about his behavior.

"He hasn't done anything to you! Stop being a dick!" Alanna growls fiercely in defense of her best friend. In fact, Connie hasn't even been in a single one of the arguments today so far. That so happened to be the first time he's jumped in with a comment. And to be perfectly honest, it is true.

"Don't even start with me!" the light-haired brunette turns on his curly-haired comrade, "Alanna, you've been acting like a real bitch since this exercise started!"

She bristles at the insult. Without second guessing, the redhead girl yells, "Come over here and I'll show you who's the real bitch!" Alanna drops her reins and starts cracking her knuckles. She'll even dismount so she can kick his ass, regardless of if it will negatively affect her and delays the mission's completion. She's got all this pent-up frustration from Jean and she needs an outlet stat.

"Alanna! Jean!" Marco shouts, "Both of you need to get a hold of yourselves!"

"Don't tell me what to do!" Jean roars in response. If she wants to fight; fine. Alanna just better not cry when he sends her spinning into next week.

Alanna snaps, "He's the group leader! He _**can**_ tell you what to do!"

Marco's eyes flicker in rising agitation. He loudly barks, "Alanna, enough! You're not helping! If we delay, it will have to be reported! Please don't record this yet, Armin."

"G-got it..." Armin replies quietly. The blond boy lowers his pen from pad of paper. He had started to write about the confrontation between his friends. But since Marco told him not to record the fight, he scribbles out the content. He'll rewrite the actual report when they return to the training grounds.

Still not feeling satisfied at the conclusion of the situation, the light-haired boy from Trost sarcastically comments, "You can write down: 'Jean Kirstein tries to find food during the exercise, but gets interrupted by Eren Jaeger and is then verbally accosted by Alanna Braden."

"What did you say?!" Eren growls, clenching his fists and jaw.

"Them's fighting words, Kirstein! I'll physically _**assault**_ you too!" Alanna warns, openly threatening him even with the risk of Armin jotting it down.

"THEYRE DELICIOUS!" Sasha explosively shrieks. The shrill, sudden voice surprises everyone. The cadets remain dead silent, observing the girl who has just scared the living daylights out of them all. Her face is twisted into a pouting scowl and the brunette appears to be hanging on the verge of tears. Clearly, she's become overly frustrated at the bickering between all of them.

"Let's go," Marco sighs. Honestly, he now just wants to reach the checkpoint as soon as possible so they can get this assignment done and over with. Make that also without any full-blown fist fights breaking out between anyone.

Clicking his tongue together, Jean agrees, "O-okay..."

Alanna doesn't say anything. She's still somewhat angered at Jean for calling her a bitch when he's guilty of acting like a total douchebag since day one of training. Even so, the auburn-haired girl hailing from Ragako Village decides it's better to just let it go for now. The more time she spends bickering with Jean, the longer the training exercise is going to take. Which means the longer she'll have to spend in the same group as him. The faster they get this exercise done, the faster she can get away from Jean.

Sasha mumbles dejectedly, "Given its size, it could have fed all of us."

"Maybe the next one..." Alanna murmurs, nudging her horse forward to trot behind Eren and Armin.

"You've got to watch your tongue, Alanna," Mina angrily scolds, lightly tapping her friend on the head as she pulls alongside her. "Seriously, I thought you and Jean were about to duke it out."

"Alanna was born with her silver tongue. She can't get rid of it even if she tried," Connie jokes.

Alanna frowns with light blush rising to her cheeks. Quickly, she grumbles, "Oh, ha-ha, very funny. I have plenty of self-control, thank you very much!" She soon smiles as her best friend shrugs and playfully shakes his head in disagreement.

A little more chatting between the group appears to smooth things over for everyone at the present moment. Though, Eren, Jean, and Alanna refrain from conversing with one another. Honestly, the trio giving one another the cold shoulder is ten times better for their mission than if they talked. Without any further delay, the group of teens reach the forest by nightfall. They'll make the rest of the trip to the checkpoint after the sun rises tomorrow. For now, they'll be camping out. Their horses are tied to tree trunks in groups of four, two on each side of the large plant. Because the boys gathered firewood and started the two campfires, the girls cook dinner from the food rations.

"So this is what squad supplies taste like..." Jean groans after swallowing a few bites of the soup that was prepared.

"Aww, come on, it's not that bad," Alanna comments, leaning closer to the fire to warm her chilled palms, "I'm sure you've had worse." She, like everyone else here, lived through the famine. It taught her not to be picky about a meal. If food is available, she will eat it. She knows what self-starvation can result in.

Sasha sighs in disappointment, "It would have been better if we'd caught the lizard." Sure, food is food... but the large reptile would have tasted a lot better than these bland rations.

"Enough. I've had it with lizards," Jean grumbles. The moment has passed. He honestly wants nothing to do with any reptile any time soon.

Eren butts in with a snide jeer, "Weren't you hunting one just now?"

Jean pauses, holding the granola bar in his hand just in front of his mouth. Clicking his tongue, he lowers his food. "Well, we _**are**_ supposed to hunt Titans, right?" he retorts smartly.

"And what do you mean by that? Why did you even join the training corps?!" Eren roars. He rises to his feet and glares at Jean's back. Already the situation is escalating and with two open fires going right now, if the fight turns physical, people can wind up seriously injured.

Jean just lets out a calm chuckle before rising to his feet. Dusting off the seat of his pants, he faces Eren. Answering his question, the light-haired brunette sighs, "To live something better than a humble life, at the very least."

"What did you say?! Some things can be tolerated, and others can't!"

Armin panics, picking up his clipboard with the records on it to jot down the confrontation between his two peers. Though, the look on his face shows that's he's uncertain with what to start with. He's probably stuck on who exactly started this new confrontation.

"It's fine, Armin! It's just idle chat during mealtime," Marco attempts to dissuade the record-keeper. He may have to intervene in a minute in case punches start getting thrown. The last thing they need is for someone to get burned by the red-hot flames or set any equipment ablaze. Though, if any equipment winds up damaged, Shadis will be far angrier at them than if the arguing they'd been doing the whole trip resulted in a fistfight.

Jean continues to taunt his hotheaded comrade, "You think when a real Titan shows up the results of training hard will pay off? Good jo-"

"That's enough from you!" Eren howls. He lashes out, snatching Jean's collar.

"Stop it!" Krista squeals, trying to keep the peace. But, the two boys seem keen on ignoring her and continue their bickering. Now the situation is really getting dangerous. With the boys shoving each other, someone can easily wind up being pushed into one of the two campfires. They don't have the proper medicinal tools to treat severe burn injuries with them.

"How about we actually hunt lizards?" Sasha suggests nervously, attempting to diffuse the situation as well, "You'll feel better after that!"

"For the love of Christ..." Alanna curses in annoyance. Of course they all can't even have a peaceful meal after all the spats today. It's always something. Clearly, everyone is bat-shit insane without the commandant breathing down their necks. He'd tell them the cut the bullcrap and stop acting like infants. In fact, he probably bust a few of their heads open to make his point sufficiently clear too. She rises to her feet and swiftly gets between the two boys. "Eren, don't stoop to his level. Go sit down." She gently shoves him away, sending a look to show she isn't kidding. The brunette hesitates as though he is debating about retorting something back but eventually backs off and does as he'd been instructed.

"Aww, getting your girlfriend to fight your battles for you? How cute!" Jean sneers, pointing at the two. He furthers his mockery by making kissy-faces and then doubles over laughing.

Alanna feels a vein in her forehead pop in agitation. Honestly, it makes her want to rag on him about his unrequited crush on Mikasa. "Seriously, Jean, shut the fuck up," the auburn-haired teen snarls, "I've honestly had it today with your goddamn mouth running like you own the place. Sit your ass back down and button it"

"You've got a lot of nerve telling me what to do! Last I checked, Marco was our team leader, not you."

"Oh, piss off! You've done nothing but bitch today! What are you?! Fucking five?!"

Suddenly, a strong force strikes the side of her face, causing her to stumble backwards. It takes her a moment to realize that Jean just socked her straight in the jaw. Everyone else gasps, sucking in their breath in anticipation.

Armin picks up the clipboard again in case he has to report an incident for real this time. Connie lurches to a standing position and dances on the balls of his feet, preparing to jump in the second Alanna lunges. It looks like Sasha is getting ready to do the same. They both know just how violent she can get if provoked, and that punch certainly is grounds enough for the curly-haired female to retaliate. Marco is busy trying to convince Armin to put the clipboard away. Mina and Eren are just stunned, though the male seems more visibly angry that Jean landed an uppercut on a female comrade, even if it was just Alanna who has proven beforehand that she is more than perfectly capable of sustaining a punch to the face.

Alanna just straightens up, her eyes burning. She bristles as her anger rises. She doesn't usually hit unless struck first. Though, the many fist fights she and Connie had in the past were split pretty evenly between the two best friends of who threw the first punch. She'd just love to send a sucker-punch back at him square in the nose. Just to show that she can take a blow to the face and dish back just as hard, if not more. But she's not going to give Jean the satisfaction of a reaction.

"I'm going to sleep. Wake me when it's time to move." Alanna spits, walking away from further escalation. She's done. She's too tired to even out the effort into retaliation. This can be settled later, when they're back at the training camp. Right now, all the curly-haired cadet wants to do is rest. She settles into her sleeping back, facing away from everyone else, including Connie, as a signal to leave her the hell alone. Closing her eyes, she drifts off to sleep within ten minutes.

 _Happily, she's playing in the stream located in the forest just outside her hometown with her best friend, their laughter echoing through the tree line. In the summer heat, Alanna welcomes the playful splashing from Connie as the cold, crystal-clear water cools down her body. After clowning around for about fifteen minutes, they're both completely soaked head to toe._

" _We should play hide-and-seek!" the boy suggests, wading out of the water and squeezes out his shirt._

 _Alanna beams and nods fervently. Hopping out of the water and shaking some of the water droplets from her long hair, the girl slips back into her shoes. "Okay!" she chirps, "You go hide! I'll seek!"_

" _Okay! If you don't find me within five minutes, we'll meet back here!"_

" _Sounds good to me!"_

 _Covering her eyes with her hands, she starts to loudly count, "1...2...3..." Alanna hears the pattering of his feet grows softer and softer as Connie hurriedly sprints away. She has up to the count of twenty before she can start looking for him. Unlike the boy, who is notorious for cheating, she doesn't peak to see what direction he went in. "…18... 19... 20! Ready or not, here I come!"_

 _Removing her hands, she peers around to see if maybe Connie decided to hide nearby. But by the looks of it, he's not around the stream. He's pretty agile, so she's got to start moving if she ever has a chance of finding him. Alanna runs in the direction she believes she heard her best friend head off in. She wonders about checking the trees since they often climbed them for harmless competition. Though, if she does decide to climb up one, she'll have to be extra careful about it since her shoes today aren't the greatest for climbing trees._

 _Suddenly, the forest seems a lot darker. It hasn't even been that long since they left the village after lunch. The sun shouldn't even be lowering in the sky for at least another few hours. Her chest tightens as a feeling of anxiety washes over her. Alanna slows to a walk and glances around. Still no sign of Connie. What's even weirder... all sounds of wildlife have silenced. There is not even the single chirp of a bird or the knocking of a woodpecker. She doesn't like this. It's far too quiet. It's as though all life has ceased to exist… or fled the forest._

 _Just as she passes by a tree, she is horrified to peer up at a Titan. The monster isn't too much bigger than her, but it's still twice her own size. A 4-meter class maybe? She freezes as it hungrily stares at her. Its black, soulless eyes are visible through its messy, greasy, silverish-gray hair. Alanna opens her mouth to scream for help and the beast charges..._

Stirred awake from the slight nightmare, Alanna slowly sits up in her sleeping bag. Of course she'd have a nightmare during a field exercise. The unfamiliar area probably made her subconsciously anxious which fueled her vivid dream. Blinking a few times to clear her blurred vision, she notices the empty sleeping bag while habitually searching for Connie. It looks as though it's barely been slept in. The 13-year-old cadet wonders who is missing and glances around again to find out. She counts everyone but Krista Lenz, who'd been awfully quiet following the rising tensions brought about during dinner. And honestly, Alanna couldn't blame her.

She knows Krista is a gentler, laid back soul than most of the cadets. If anything, she is the polar opposite of Jean and Eren; the blonde female will rather submit to avoid conflict than start a fight, even if she highly disagreed with something. So, probably all the yelling and bickering those two, along with Alanna's own arguments with Jean, were doing earlier had upset her and made her restless.

Deciding to look for Krista, the curly-haired girl silently slips out of her sleeping bag and creeps away from her comrades and friends who happen to be peacefully asleep. She doesn't call for the missing cadet to avoid waking anyone and causing a huge scene. If anything, she's probably taking care of some "personal business."

Walking on the path that leads to the small river that they'd camped by, Alanna wonders if the small, blonde girl wandered over to get some water. Unable to see very well on the darkened path, she trips over tree root or a rock of some sort, stumbling awkwardly before regaining her balance. _God, walk much, Alanna?!_ The cadet pales at her lack of stealth and grace. She must have made one hell of a racket just then.

She wrestles through some thick brush, stepping on a few dead tree branches scattered on the ground. As she steps out into the clearing, she finds Krista in a defensive fighting stance. Clearly, all the noise she had accidentally been making scared her friend. And more obviously, Krista's horse has his ears point forwards, picking up the sound of her footsteps. She must have brought the gelding with her. Alanna recalls the small, blonde female having quite the soft spot for animals, big and small.

Krista yelps, sounding surprised yet also comforted to see that it's just her fellow cadet, "A-Alanna!"

"S-sorry!" Alanna apologizes, holding up her hands, "I didn't mean to startle you. I just got a little worried when I noticed your sleeping bag was empty."

Krista sighs in relief before smiling, "It's okay. Thanks for coming to check on me, I'm fine." Somehow, the smile she gives Alanna doesn't seem to be truthful. The blonde cadet appears quite concerned about something; in fact, the other cadet can almost describe her demeanor as nervous.

"Krista, you know you can tell me anything," Alanna coaxes, "If it's something embarrassing, I promise not to tell anyone."

Krista shrugs as if she can't find the exact words to say. She mumbles, "I don't know... maybe I'm just imagining things..."

"Imagining what?"

"Did you get the feeling earlier… during dinner that... we were being watched?"

"No, not really... Did you see something?"

Krista shifts her weight, nervously. Her body language just spells out her fear of Alanna dismissing her claims and judging her for them. The petite blonde finally admits, "I thought I caught a shadow moving through the tree line near the camp... no one else noticed it because Jean had just punched you."

"Think it could have been a deer or some other animal just checking what all the ruckus was? I mean, Jean, Eren, and I were being a bit loud with the arguing and insults," Alanna suggests before adding, "But clearly, you don't think that's the case."

She can tell her friend isn't satisfied with the idea that it was just some forest creature observing the cadets. Especially since her mouth drooped into a discontented frown as soon as Alanna made the suggestion. As cadets, they're trained to trust their instincts and the instincts of their comrades. If docile Krista feels threatened, something most likely is up. "Krista, I believe you."

"You do?" the blonde cadet asks, seemingly surprised that her comrade believed her with very little proof to back up her statement.

"You're not one to lie," the curly-haired girl surmises, "Why would you lie now? To scare the rest of us? You don't have a mean bone in your body." To be honest, she's disregarding the fact that there would be no point in freaking the whole group out during an exercise. If anything, that would just be asking for punishment from Shadis. Besides, Krista isn't what Alanna would classify as the paranoid-type either. If it was coming from Daz, she would have been more inclined to dismiss any claims made. But he's in the other group.

Krista smiles and wipes her eyes as they well up with tears slightly in joy, "Thanks, Alanna."

"Come on, we better head back to camp or someone will wake up to us missing and panic," Alanna chuckles. Of course, being unaware of whatever made the shadow Krista saw is a bit unsettling in such an unfamiliar area. Maybe when they get back to camp they should wake and tell the others. They might not be safe here. It is probably be best for them to pack up and move out for now so they can rest in a more secure location.

As she is about to turn away, the redhead catches movement from just behind her comrade. A bulky man with what appears to be an empty burlap sack over his head with two eye holes cut out to allow sight is reaching out to snatch the unsuspecting girl. Reacting immediately, she intercepts, nudging the blonde forward. The man easily knocks the curly-haired, 13-year-old to the ground, pinning her arms behind her back in a way that restricts her mobility. Alanna lifts her head off the ground and screeches, "KRISTA, RUN!"

Frightened, Krista does as ordered. She starts towards the camp to alert the others but is soon cornered by two other men and is captured as well. She lets out an ear-piercing shriek that surely has woken their friends. Good! They'll come rescue them! Hearing the terrified whinnies of horses followed by the thundering of hooves, Alanna is certain that their comrades had to be awake now. But it's unlikely they are on horseback. Whoever these people are freed their mounts and startled them enough that the poor animals fled without their riders.

"Bastards!" Alanna curses, still pressed against the ground by her captor, "Let her go!" She has to think of a way to escape his grip and rescue Krista so they can rejoin their group. But what can she do? She's unarmed and her movement has been severely restricted. _Think, Alanna! Think!_

"I don't think you're in a position to act like you can order us around, missy," the man laughs, applying more pressure to squash her face into the dirt. Alanna whimpers as small pebbles dig into her skin painfully. But she's not about to cry out because of it. She has to stay strong for Krista's sake until the others come for them.

Krista cries, "Don't hurt her, please!"

Suddenly, a gunshot rings out. The redhead and blonde girls' hearts practically stop beating. Alanna's blood turns to ice but her body feels like her temperature is scalding. Panic has fully begun to set in as she fears the worst; one of her friends has been shot. The first person to come to mind tips her over the edge...

"OH MY GOD, CONNIE!" she bawls frantically, suddenly finding overwhelming strength, fueled by her adrenaline, to wrestle under the weight of her captor. Alanna struggles to free herself. If she remains captured here, Connie might die. He could be bleeding out for all she knows. She has to make it back to camp. "GOD, PLEASE! NO!" If he dies because she isn't there to protect him, she will never forgive herself. She continues fighting, much to the growing agitation of the man pinning her to the ground.

Suddenly, having enough of her squirming and squealing, something in her captor snaps as he grabs a fistful of her hair, yanks her head upwards, before smashing her face against the ground to stop her from annoyingly wriggling underneath him. Alanna falls silent and motionless as she lays stunned. Her nose begins steadily bleeding from the impact, but it doesn't seem to be broken. Krista yelps in surprise and concern, calling for her friend to respond. The curly-haired teen can't even force herself to even mumble anything. Her mind is a jumbled mess as it attempts to piece back her reactions and regain a sort of lucidity.

"That should keep you quiet," the man grunts in satisfaction at the now-motionless girl underneath him. If she had freed herself, he may have had to resort to killing her. He shouts at Krista who has begun sobbing uncontrollably, "Oh, stop crying! She's not dead!"

"Alanna! Say something!"

"Alanna, please!"

"Come on! Alanna!"

No matter what, Alanna just can't find the strength to let Krista know she is okay. Honestly, she isn't. One of their friends could be severely wounded... even dead as a result of that gunshot from a little bit ago. She is afraid that it may be Connie. So she remains silent. It's useless to fight them right now. If the two girls do, they'll only end up being killed.

"We've secured the camp and starting gathering the gear!" another man yells, approaching them from the direction of the campsite. So, they're here for the 3DM gear. Alanna recalls Shadis mentioning how popular the sale of the military equipment is on the black market. They had the unfortunate run-in with professional smugglers who've probably had their fair share of getting blood on their hands. They picked a great target, inexperienced cadets who'd gone off to sleep without a single watchman. They'd left themselves completely defenseless. And this error is going to seriously cost them.

"Alright, let's help load up the rest of the cargo," Alanna's captor replies.

A man restraining Krista asks, "What should we do about these two?" Clearly, by the tone of his voice hostages weren't in the original plan. They probably planned to swipe the gear and go without the cadets knowing. But they hadn't expected for two to still be awake when they made their move.

"We'll load them up too. The other brats won't fuss if we have hostages," the man pinning Alanna down explains. He watches as the others of his group lead Krista back towards the camp after tying her hands together. Then he raises himself off the redhead. "Stand up!" he barks, trying to pull her to her feet. But Alanna is still dazed from the blow she took. He's only successful in dragging her up to her knees, though she hunches over soon after. Deciding that he should restrict her arm movement while she's still limp, the man ties a thick rope around her wrists. He tightens it so much that it begins to cut into the skin. "Alright, enough wasting my time. Stand up and move!" The man growls, yanking Alanna to her feet. He literally has to drag her as she's lost all will to even move.

As they draw into the camp, she hears the surprised and horrified gasps from her comrades. Weakly, she lifts her head with her dead eyes, expecting to see one less of the group or someone severely injured. Seeing that Connie is alright, her eyes regain some of the life in them. The others seem alright, though shaken up, with the worse injuries being the large bruise on Eren's cheek and the bleeding gash on Jean's cheek.

"Krista! Alanna!" they shout.

Connie takes a step forward as though he can simply run to his captured best friend. Though in his sudden movement, a rifle is pointed at him. The boy abruptly skids to a stop in his tracks while the redhead shouts in protest. If they shoot him now, Alanna isn't about to let it slide.

Suddenly, both she and Krista are hoisted over the shoulders of two of the men that has their group surrounded. Alanna squirms but that doesn't seem to affect the person. Krista tells her to stop resisting so that she doesn't get hurt again. The redhead isn't so willing to be complacent to a bunch of lowlife criminals that would attack young, unsuspecting cadets just to steal their 3DM gear. Why would they even do that in the first place? They're aiding the Titans by robbing them of their equipment, even if the sale results in loads of money. Money will not do the smugglers any good if the Titans succeed in breaking Wall Rose which will end in huge casualties and another damaging famine. More lives will be lost due to the selfish actions of these men. But as Krista pleads with her eyes, clearly scared out of her wits, Alanna settles down and stops resisting for the moment. It may be best so that she doesn't endanger anyone else.

Alanna glares as she and Krista are tied to a pole to restrain their movements during the final loading preparations. The redhead wrestles against her constraints, seeing if she could possibly free herself. With their arms tied behind their head, it's nearly impossible to free themselves, lest they be willing to sacrifice a working arm or two.

"We won't take your lives," she hears a man's rough voice instructing her friends, "We'll release you at some point." Alanna speculates that this man is the leader of these bandits. She hates this man, for some indescribable reason. She feels nothing but a raging fury. How dare he do this to them? How dare he and his goons steal their equipment and capture her and Krista as hostages so their friends won't fight back? "But if you dare come after us, we'll kill you and your friends here. Understood?"

Her friends remain silent, angrily glaring at the thugs. If they try anything now, they risk getting themselves or Krista and Alanna killed. Besides, they have no weapons. They can't win a gun battle empty-handed. For now, they'll have to back off.

Alanna glances back by turning her head slightly to watch as the distance between her and her friends increases since the carts begin to pull away. She stares sadly at Connie, knowing there's nothing she can do or say to comfort him. He looks absolutely petrified. His best friend is being held hostage by criminals with rifles and God knows what else. He's powerless to save her. A single tear rolls down her cheek and she turns away once her comrades are little more than black dots on the horizon.

Connie watches sadly as the wagon holding his best friend hostage drives away. His fists clench tightly, digging his nails into his skin deep enough that he could draw blood at any second if he adds any more pressure. He couldn't do anything to save her. What will he tell her father? Lucas Braden has suffered enough. If Connie writes to him about how his, though still estranged, daughter was kidnapped by bandits during a training exercise and unsuccessfully rescued, it probably will kill the poor, widowed man.

"Everyone..." the hushed, angered and disappointed voice of Eren causes everyone to raise their lowered heads. He refuses to even face them due to his disgust at their outright cowardice and failure as dependable comrades. He shouts, "If we attacked as a team, then we could have done something!" When he'd told them to fight back at the time of the original ambush, they could have gained the upper-hand and taken out the bandits. But everyone else froze up in confusion. That's how they got captured, their horses turned loose, and their gear was successfully stolen.

Jean speaks up, "That's your opinion." He'd tried to make a break for it and got shot at. He's lucky the bullet only grazed his cheek. "I don't agree. Actually, because of your crazy behavior, everyone was at danger." If Eren had just sat quietly, maybe they could have exchanged Alanna and Krista for the gear. Now they are without their 3DM gear, their horses, and the two aforementioned girls are still captives to the bandits.

Marco lowers his head. He's disappointed in his failure as a leader. Two of his comrades in his "command" were taken without any resistance along with their 3DM gear. He's ashamed that he had let this all happen. Thinking it over, he realized he should have appointed lookout shifts. Instead, they all went to sleep at the same time which allowed for the bandits to swoop in while their guard was dropped. He mumbles dejectedly, "This exercise is over."

Armin nods, "It is." Inside, he is beating himself up for not having the courage to listen to Eren. His best friend is right. If they had all joined as a team, they just might have found a way to overpower the bandits and save the girls.

"Are we abandoning Alanna and Krista?!" Eren yowls, still refusing to face his teammates. He can't believe that Marco can even suggest that they leave their friends in the hands of those dirty, thieving, evil men. They don't even know what the crooks plan to do with the girls. The bandits may just outright kill them while they twiddle their thumbs. They may even sell them as slaves in the black market. He's quite aware that people in that business exist in the world.

"That's not it," Marco explains, "But with just us, we can't do anything. That's why we should ask Shadis-"

"What if we don't make it?! I won't accept this as it is! I'm going to save Krista and Alanna for sure! I'll go alone!" Eren screams, finally looking at his friends. His eyes are burning in pure rage. He's so frustrated, his eyes are starting to well up with tears. Unlike his teammates, he isn't willing to idly sit back and let a group of criminals get away with his comrades.

"Eren..." Armin murmurs, amazed by his conviction and concern for their missing comrades. Though, he really shouldn't be surprised. That's just how Eren is. He's always been about saving those who are unable to save themselves and loyalty towards friends. Then, without any other word, the brunette storms off in the direction the wagons went. "Eren!"

Jean suddenly shouts, "Wait!" He jogs after their teammate, latching onto his jacket sleeve once he catches up. "All of our horses were released! How are you going to find them?"

"It's none of your business!" Eren snaps, ripping his arm away and pushes the light-haired boy back. He doesn't need help from him of all people. He saw him try to escape without his comrades. Jean had been more interested in saving his own skin than helping his teammates.

"It is!" the boy hailing from Trost responds loudly, "I'm going with you!" By the look on Eren's face, what he said took him by surprise. It makes sense, he supposes. He did try to cut and run for it when they were surrounded by the bandits. But, he has enough decency to know that he cannot abandon his friends. Even if he doesn't exactly get along with Alanna, he can't forgive himself if he just let the bandits take her. "I'm not going down in this undignified manner."

Hearing footsteps draw closer, Eren finds that the rest of his comrades have joined them. By the expressions on their faces, they seem determined to join the rescue mission as well. His eyes widen in shock. "You guys..."

Connie puts a hand on his hip with a smirk. He remarks, "Come on, they have my best friend. Do you really think I'd just let them take her and go?" The hazel-eyed boy can't let Eren show him up. Only he can be the one to save Alanna. He can't ever return to Ragako Village without the auburn-haired girl. He's going to save her!

"Let's go save our friends!" Sasha cheers, throwing a fist in the air.

"In any case..." Connie starts, staring down the path the wagons headed, "How are we going to find those guys?" Without their horses, it's highly unlikely they can catch the bandits on foot. Even if they followed the tire tracks left by the wheels of the carts, it still doesn't guarantee their success in tailing them. They didn't have the time to try and track down the large animals either. It's unknown in where the horses went as they all scattered in random directions once startled by the bandits. They could be anywhere in the forest.

Mina surmises, "We might not make it even if we split up." She's worried about Krista and Alanna. Who knows what the bandits' plans are to do with the two girls they have captive. The noirette hopes they will use them for ransom, as bad as that would be in itself. She'd rather have that than them being sold into black-market slavery. If that happens, they all may never see their two friends ever again. They can't let that happen without at least trying to rescue them.

"In that case, we'll just climb to a higher place!" Sasha suggests. She leads the group up a rock formation that towers over the forest. Crossing her arms over her chest in pleased victory, she explains, "When you get lost in the mountains, climb upwards! If you get lost in the forest, climb a tall tree! That's what my father told me!"

Connie starts looking around the tree line to the right to spot anything that might give away the position of the bandits are perhaps the direction they were headed. No such luck. He turns to find Armin doubled over panting with Eren and Mina caring for him. Guess he really doesn't have any physical stamina even after all of their intense training from the previous year. Mina hands the blond boy a water pouch which he gratefully chugs down.

Jean abruptly shouts, pointing across the tree line, "Hey!" The others follow his finger to find a trail of smoke winding up into the sky. They may have just found their bandits, which means they've found their captured friends as well. They might be one step closer to bringing them home.

Alanna isn't too sure how long the wagon had been travelling before they stop for a few minutes to rest. She glares as Krista is unloaded from the wagon and lead out, much to the blonde girl's clear distress from being separated from her friend. She wishes they would be a little gentler with the petite cadet as she has yet to resist them in any way since capture. It's a few minutes before a few more men come for her. Then it's made apparent: They wanted as many arms around to restrain her if necessary. She's the only captive giving them trouble.

"Don't try anything funny" a muscled, black-haired man in his late thirties or so with a missing front tooth warns her as he hops into the wagon to untie her from the beam, "Or else we won't hesitate to shoot you."

Oh, how Alanna would love to call him on his bluff. She debates on sinking her teeth into his hands as he brings her arms down. Of course, she isn't about to put Krista in danger as well by starting a ruckus. Instead, she spits in his face just as he removes her arms from the beam she and Krista had been tied to. The man cries out in disgust and surprise, shoving her back. The redhead stumbles backwards out of the wagon and falls flat on her back, cracking her head against the hard, rocky ground. Stunned, she remains still, blinking a few times to clear her vision and head.

"Somebody grab that bitch!" she hears the middle-aged man yell and is suddenly swooped upon by two older men. They lift her to her feet by her underarms, restraining her. The man who untied her jumps down from the wagon, wiping his face. His face is contorted with his anger. Striding up, he growls, "So… You think you're tough shit, huh?" He pulls back a fist and punches her square in the eye and the side of her nose.

As his fist connects with her face, the two guys holding her let go. Alanna is knocked to the ground with a sharp yelp. Leaning on her forearms, trembling slightly, she notices reddish droplets dripping to the ground. The blow caused her nose to start bleeding again. The redhead can already feel her eye starting to swell up. Now, she's really pissed. She rises to her feet slowly and shakily, her breathing ragged and her eyes burning with unmatched fire. If her hands weren't tied together, she'd strangle the life out of him.

"Alanna! Stop!" Krista calls out, "Please! Don't hurt her!"

As to not further upset the blonde girl, Alanna backs down. She allows for another one of the men to lead her to where Krista is. The girls are forced to kneel down with their tied arms raised up and behind their heads at gunpoint while the bandits move the 3DM gear they just swiped to a new wagon. From what the curly-haired cadet can observe is that the new wagon already has quite a few sets of 3DM gear inside. She's almost certain the number looks about the same as the second group's members. So, these criminals got to Mikasa and Thomas' group too. Hopefully, without any casualties or injuries. Alanna surmises that since there are no hostages from that group, the bandits successfully stole their gear while no one was looking.

"We're heading out as soon as everything is loaded! Hurry!" A fairly tan man orders the rest of the bandits. He must be the ringleader she'd heard earlier.

Once they are finished, Krista and Alanna are next on the list for loading. The blonde girl urges her agitated companion to just bite her tongue and go along with their captors. At first, it doesn't seem like Alanna is going to listen. But as they are nudged with the butts of the rifles pointed at their heads, the auburn-haired teen unsteadily rises to her feet without complaints. They are loaded into the second wagon which has nothing but a few boxes of supplies and some more rifles.

Through the only set of binoculars they have, Eren observes the two girls being led towards the canvas covered wagons. It's only been a few minutes since they found the bandits following Sasha's advice, they must be getting ready to move. He passes the lens to Jean who peers in as well. The dark-haired brunette asks in a hushed voice to avoid detection as they all laid flat on their stomachs to watch the bandits, "What do we do?"

"We'll be too late at this rate," Jean mentions as he watches Alanna step into the wagon with a little hesitation but is forced in with a shove. He holds his breath as it looks like she's about to retaliate but exhales once she simply saunters up to another man, allowing herself to be tied up once again. He worries that she may wind up getting herself killed before they can rescue her and Krista.

"They have rifles on them," Marco warns, "We're gonna get shot!" Sure, he doesn't want to leave Alanna and Krista with the bandits any longer, but they are gravely unprepared. Maybe if they still had their gear or their horses...

Armin finally speaks up, "I have an idea..." He nods his head towards the rock formation behind him so they can all regroup to talk without risking being seen by the bandits. The blonde, frail boy explains, pointing at the map they have of the area and nearby towns before passing it to Connie and Marco, "They're probably going to sell the stolen goods. If that's the case, they'll probably find a wide exit around this area. We'll ambush them before they get there." The thieves will use it to travel to the nearest town to illegally trade to the highest bidder.

"It'll be hard since we have no horses," Connie mentions, looking on the map with the freckled noirette. There's two exits that the bandits could potentially take. They can't take a chance on picking one over the other or split up their numbers. He can't let Alanna slip out of his grasp. He's going to bring her home.

"It's possible, if there's a wider exit. If we leave the forest!" Sasha adds. She leads them down the mountain and out of the forest. The group pauses, hoping they have enough time before the bandits catch up to them to go over the plan once more.

Armin explains further, "After clearing the forest, the road divides into two routes. One of the roads leads to the wider exit. Once they enter there, we don't stand a chance. So... we give them only one option... the only route they see..."

"And if all goes well?" Jean questions.

Eren adds, "Which carriage are Krista and Alanna and the gear are in? How can we tell?"

"If we hear a rattling sound, we'll be able to tell," Marco explains.

Hiding up in various trees along the path, depending on what their job is in the ambush, the cadets prepare for their counter attack.

Mina is positioned in one of the first trees. She'll play the lookout. Once she spots the first carriage, the noirette will have to signal to Connie and Sasha. Their collective job is to block off the wider path by bending a tree large enough to mix with the brush that it completely covers the road from sight. The hazel-eyed, crewcut-haired boy will leap from one tree to the next with the help of the ponytail-wearing brunette, pulling the tree they tie a rope to down to hide the other pathway. From there it's up to Marco and Armin to figure out which wagons the girls and the gear are. They quickly set up a mechanism of empty tin cans from their rations and a rope. If tugged, the cans will clink together, signaling Eren and Jean to strike.

Before they'd split up for the ambush, the signal had to be established:

Marco plans, "If the equipment is in the first carriage, I'll pull once. If it's in the rear one I'll pull twice. If it's split between both, I'll pull thrice."

Hearing the sound of horse hooves mixed with the clacking wheels of a wagon, Marco closes his eyes to focus his ears. He can't mess this up. He and Armin had positioned themselves by a large bump in the road just for this job. The first carriage rolls by and there's no sound except for a slight squeal belonging to one of the girls. That's where they are. As the second carriage hits the bump, Marco hears the loud clang of metal colliding against each other. Without hesitating, he yanks the rope twice quickly.

Alanna jumps hearing the metal cans clanging in the tree tops. She strains her neck to look behind her as she is alerted to the sounds of yelling and a struggle ensuing in the trailing carriage. The auburn-haired, 13-year-old girl nearly cheers in joy as she watches Jean tackle one of the bandits out of the rear cart while Eren grapples the other to the floor of the wagon. As Jean runs up to the front to put the driver in a choke hold, Eren sits on top of the man he'd knocked down and started wailing on him.

A blond bandit in a white hat points his rifle at Jean, his finger on the trigger, cursing, "Those brats!"

"JEAN!" Alanna rips out a scream as a shot is fired. Luckily, the first carriage hits a pothole which ruins the man's aim. The bullet ricochets and hits a beam instead. The force of the bump's impact is strong enough to knock the girls off the beam they were tied to, freeing them from their restraints.

While the other bandits are distracted by the girls' rescuers, Krista whispers that they should untie each other from the bindings around their wrists. Alanna starts with the blonde girl's quickly working around the knots. She sweats and swears quietly, hoping to be undetected until after they are both free. Once she frees the blonde girl, Krista gets straight to work.

Though, Alanna's bindings seem to be a bit more difficult as they have started to dig into her skin. The knots are also tighter. This has to be due to all of her struggling against the bandits that they made hers tighter to avoid her accidentally becoming free. The curly-haired teen panics as she notices the men and their friends still fighting but the bandit in the cart with them is almost finished reloading. She whispers, "Hurry, Krista! There's not much time!"

"I'm trying! They're really tight!" Krista hiccups. Giving one last tug, the rope loosens and her friend is free.

"Krista! Sorry!" Alanna apologizes quickly before nudging the girl out of the moving cart to allow her to escape without warning. The others must be nearby, they'll help her. She notices Armin and Marco running up to aid Krista and sighs in relief.

"Next one won't miss!"

"NO!" Alanna tackles the man, trying to wrestle the rifle from his grip. She's not going to sit idly while her friends get shot at again. Krista isn't in danger anymore, she can fight back without having to worry about her getting injured or caught in the cross-fire.

"ALANNA!" Eren calls out.

While they continue to wrestle for control of the firearm, it goes off, shooting a bullet into one of the second wagon's front wheels. The wood splits and causes the carriage to slide off the path.

"EREN! JEAN!" Alanna shrieks. She prays they're okay. Still, she's not going to give up. She's going to get his rifle. She's going to retaliate for all the shit she's put up with since her capture. Roaring like a deranged psychopath, the auburn-haired cadet jumps on his back, knocking off his hat and wraps her arms around his neck, adding pressure to slowly choke him so he'd drop his weapon. She releases one arm to repeatedly strike his temple with a closed fist.

"This bitch! Get off me!" Knocking the wind out of her by elbowing her in the side hard so she releases him, the man shoves her off with a loud, irritated grunt. Swinging the butt of the rifle, he cracks it upside her face, knocking her clean off her feet and slamming to the wagon floor. Alanna's teeth rattle in her mouth. She flinches as her eyes meet the barrel of the rifle. Her mind suddenly blanks. The only thing that crosses her mind is the regret that she won't be reuniting with Connie after all.

"Don't kill her!" the bandit leader shouts from the driver's seat of the carriage, "She's our bounty!"

The blond man smirks in pleasure. He murmurs, "So that's how it is." The boss had planned on selling the girls they'd captured to the highest buyer. Though, thanks to this one, half of their profit escaped. And by the injuries to her face, the price for her significantly dropped. They probably will have earned more for the auburn-haired teenager had she not resisted so much that they had to beat her to submission. No matter, they'll still receive a fine earning for her. "Thanks to your friends, we've lost our score! You'll have to take responsibility!"

Alanna glares and spits, "Don't underestimate us cadets!" Just as the words leave her mouth, a cable from a 3DM gear soars through the air, knocking the rifle out of the blond bandit's hands, causing him to stumble backwards with a sharp cry. She snaps her head up to see Jean and Eren tailing the cart, dodging the bullets as the blond man fires more rounds at them. The gang must have successfully retrieved the stolen 3DM gear. Seeing them draw their blades and disappear around the canvas, the girl braces for impact by clinging to the side of the carriage. The boys slice the wagon's horse free, forcing the driver to pull the emergency brake. The carriage wildly careens off the path, flipping onto its side, and slamming to a stop against a rock formation.

Alanna opens her eyes slowly and flinches at the sudden pain at her head. A groan escapes her mouth. She can feel the slow, warm trickle of blood slide down the side of her face. The impact probably bashed her head against something. She hears the moaning of her two remaining captors as they seem relatively unscathed. Before she can even register that she has the perfect opportunity to escape, the tanned man who'd been driving the wagon and leading the bandits jumps on her and forces her out of the debris. He's holding a pair of curved swords against her throat. She gulps, feeling the sharpened metal against her skin.

"Don't do anything stupid now," he warns her in an agitated voice, "Or I will not hesitate in slicing open your throat."

"ALANNA! ARE YOU OKAY?!" the distressed voice of Jean shouts out through the dust. The group must be nearby but she can't seem them through the dust cloud the crash has kicked up.

At first, she says nothing. Then, the man roughly growls in her ear, "Answer him."

"J-Jean! I'm fine! Just a little scraped up!" Alanna answers with a shaky voice. She doesn't like where this is headed. Are the remaining bandits going to use her to lure her friends close so they can kill them? If that's the case, she won't accept being left alive to be sold as an item. Before she can shout to her comrades to back off, they are just about right on top of them. The dust clears and her friends suck in their breaths at the intense, unfolding situation.

The bandit leader yowls, "Stay back!"

"Throw away your weapons!" the other bandit barks, pointing a rifle at them.

Connie looks as though he's about to run to her regardless of the threat of being shot. "Alanna!" he cries out, taking a step forward. He freezes upon hearing his best friend gasp as the man with the swords to her neck applies pressure to her windpipe.

"I'm not afraid to kill her!" he warns. The hazel-eyed boy glares with such intensity it rivals everyone else's look of disgust and anger. "Hand over the 3DM gear!"

Alanna sputters out against her lack of sufficient oxygen. "J-just do a-as he says, C-Connie. I'm o-okay," She coughs violently as the pressure is released enough to allow her to comfortably breathe. It has to be because her friends have backed off slightly.

Still, they haven't started unclipping their gear. They stare with expressions of rage and horror. The fate of their friend's life lies within the next few decisions they make. They all must have realized that these two remaining thieves will actually kill Alanna if they don't hand the gear over. They start unbuckling their gear with angry clicks of the tongue and mutters.

"Goddammit ..." Jean grumbles. As much as he doesn't want to hand his gear over to these criminals, he doesn't want Alanna to die over it more. They don't get along, sure, but he'd never wish her dead.

"Shit, you've got to be kidding me..." the tanned man mutters to himself aloud. He must be fighting off panic as he and his lackey are technically outnumbered. If they didn't have this girl hostage, they'd never get the gear back. "How did this happen to me?"

Alanna bites her lip. She wants to say that he can blame karma for finally catching up to him for his heinous deeds. Crime doesn't pay and what goes around, comes around. Her mother and father always told her that. Hard work is what truly counts in the world.

"Even if we run away from the Titans... What can you do out here where nothing can be risked?" he continues rambling to himself, "Don't burden others. I should have taught my daughter that much." For the first time, the auburn-haired cadet is seeing a glimpse of humanity in the man she viewed as pure evil. He's reflecting on his previous actions... because he doesn't want his daughter to make the same mistakes he has in her lifetime.

Suddenly, like a godsend, Annie and Mikasa come charging down from the sky. The blonde female slices the rifle out of the blond man's hands with no difficulty while the noirette whacks the blades around Alanna's neck away, freeing her. The auburn-haired cadet stumbles away but turns back as Mikasa swings her arm, in motion to cut into the flesh in the bandit leader's neck.

"DON'T KILL HIM, MIKASA!" Alanna hears herself screaming. She wonders why she just yelled that after the hell they put her through today. Then, she figured it out. Inside, she knows it is wrong to take another life, regardless of what they have done. It should not be up to her whether someone lives or dies. She'd be taking away this man from a daughter and a loving family. The teenager can't stomach it. Death isn't a call she can make for someone else.

Mikasa pauses in her attack, stopping just as the blade slightly pierces his skin. "Right..." Upon lowering her weapon, the man collapses to his knees in defeat. His goon does the same as Annie lowers her own blade from his throat.

"Looks like you went through a lot of trouble," Annie comments, signaling to Alanna's bruised and bloodied face with her right, index finger. The auburn-haired cadet only shrugs her shoulders.

Realizing that she is finally free to move, Alanna sets her sights on her best friend. "Connie!" she cheers, rushing to his side and happily jumps into his arms for a well-needed embrace. She's then overwhelmed by her emotions and starts crying. She is relieved that everyone is okay and in one piece, though a few are battered and bruised.

"I'm so glad you're safe!" he whispers, hugging her tight. If anything had happened to her, he'd never find the courage to return to Ragako Village or face Lucas Braden ever again.

After convening with the rest of Mikasa and Annie's squad, the cadets waited for the Military Police to show up. Once they do, a few officers treat Alanna's wounds and gather the required statements while others rounded up the bandits and arrested them with the charges of robbery, kidnapping, and assault. The missing horses are even found after a few hours of scoping out the forest. Everyone is just relieved that the incident is resolved with zero casualties. And even though the exercise was suspended, the groups still have to submit their records of the incident, in all honesty and without omission. With the help of Alanna, Armin submits his report to Shadis.

Needing some fresh air to get away from a few cadets, namely Connie and Sasha, from doting on her, Alanna climbs the watchtower in the training grounds. To her surprise, she finds Eren and Marco peacefully chatting.

"Hey, you're looking better," Eren laughs. Her face has healed up nicely. There is little to no swelling around her eye and jaw anymore. He has to hand it to Alanna. She took multiple punches and other injuries and still found the courage to resist her captors. Even with the threat of being shot, she still fought like hell to free herself.

Alanna shrugs with a light giggle, "Mehh, I told you I can take a hit or two. Mind if I join?" The boys smile as to welcome her to the conversation and she strides over. The breeze feels nice and she closes her eyes until it dies down. The lone female surveys the horizon, appreciating the subtle beauty of the sunset. She certainly doesn't mind the calm atmosphere after all the excitement she experienced.

"I was about to go grab some coffee for us, you want some too, Alanna?" Marco asks, kindly.

"Sure. I could use a cup."

"Alright! I'll be right back!"

It only took about ten minutes before the freckled boy returned with the hot beverages. Handing them to his friends, he leans up against the railing of the tower. He sighs, "I shouldn't have accepted the group leader position."

"What makes you say that, Marco?" Alanna asks, curiously. She thought he'd been a pretty level-headed leader. The noirette certainly handled the spats between members well; better than she could have handled them, for sure. She takes a gulp of the drink in her hands, grateful for the warm beverage.

"It seemed to me that it fit you," Eren adds before sipping at his coffee.

Marco shakes his head, disagreeing, "Nah, I'm not suited to be a leader. Jean's more suited to the job."

Eren and Alanna both scrunch up their noses. They honestly cannot disagree more. In unison, they scoff, "Jean?! Leave me out then!" He's selfish and cocky, definitely two traits not suitable for leadership.

"You two will understand it one day," Marco chuckles.

"I wonder about that..." Eren replies, leaning his folded arms over the railing.

Alanna just sighs. What exactly does he mean by that? Still, a smile creeps to her mouth. Marco sounds like he's an elderly man telling his grandkids about the mysteries of the world. Guess she'll just have to take his word for it for now. Maybe by the time graduation rolls around for them all, she'll understand what he means.

Marco sighs again, looking out at the sky above, "I wonder what kind of soldiers everyone will become..."

"Well, we've got two more years 'til we find out..." Alanna comments with a grin.

The trio stares out, enjoying the view and the deserved peace and quiet after the events resulting from their recently-suspended exercise.

* * *

 **A/N: So, this is the final chapter for a while. My summer course isn't running anymore so there should be ample time for me to write on the days I am not working. I'm also in a wedding that is rapidly approaching so I might disappear within the months of July and August. Though, if you have read my other stories, you personally know how often I disappear...**


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